Venator
by Falling to Fly
Summary: The day started off like any ordinary one: recording songs, friends, school. And then it was just... gone. Suddenly they were in cages, with no idea of where they were or how they'd gotten there. But nothing could prepare them for what would happen next.
1. Hunting

****

So here we have chapter number one! Whoo! I'm sorry. I took a longer break than I had originally planned, but now I'm back and my head has been cleared. So there's my excuse. Just like with Sense of Foreboding, updates might not come everyday. Sorry. As you can see, this is rated M. That's only for violence, you have my guarantee. Maybe it should just be T. If I need to, I'll move it down later. But if this goes the way that I'm planning for it to, that won't happen. Again, just violence and stuff. You guys know me, and you know what I will and won't right. So with that said, I hope you like this, and let's get onto chapter one!

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything you might recognize, BTR and Mac included.**

* * *

The hunter focused all of his attention on the screen of his Mac, searching through the endless pages for what he was looking. He had to find the perfect one, or _ones_ if necessary. He hardly bothered to glance up as the door to his private den opened slowly, and another man walked in. He continued to pour over the computer, straining his patience as he looked through all of the different possibilities. He couldn't allow himself to get frustrated; frustration would cloud his judgment, and then he would choose wrong. And he couldn't choose wrong; everything had to be _perfect. _

Someone cleared his throat from where he was standing in the corner, and the hunter finally tore his eyes away from the screen, raising his eyebrows and carefully hiding any traces of annoyance. "What is it, Christopher?" he asked calmly, watching as his employee looked at him with dull, unemotional eyes. He'd found Christopher starving on the street just over two years ago, and when he had offered the young man some food, the young Christopher had been incredibly grateful. The hunter had offered him a job, and he had accepted without hesitation. The hunter was a rich man, and Christopher knew that he would be very well paid. He didn't care what he had to do, as long as he never had to live like vermin in the streets again. So work he had. He'd done his job with great skill ever since that fateful day, and had never once failed. He simply did.

"The game has been released, sir," Christopher informed obediently. That was another thing that the hunter appreciated about him. In the two years he'd worked for him, Christopher had never wavered in his loyalty. Everything he was asked to do he did without question. Whether it was because he was trying to repay the hunter for his kindnesses or because he just didn't care, he'd always done everything as a devoted worker. This made life much easier for the hunter.

As soon as Christopher said those words, the hunter relaxed visibly. A good hunt was just what he needed. All he needed to do was spend a little time in the fresh air, hunting something down. That never failed to clear his head, and a clear head was exactly what he needed. With a small smile he pushed himself away from the computer, grabbing the nearest gun and standing up. It didn't matter what kind of gun he had; any weapon he used would be more than enough to take _anything _down. And that was what made him the best.

"Thank you, Christopher," he said. Christopher simply nodded, moving to allow his boss to pass. The hunter made his way through the large, maze-like house. Soon enough he found himself standing on the front porch, and then on the soft, green grass. His prey was nowhere in sight, but that didn't matter; he would find it soon enough. With another smile, he made his way toward the woods that lined the area around his mansion, walking, practically strolling, toward the thing that's life was about to be ended.

* * *

The game sprinted through the trees, frantic gasps escaping from his mouth. It felt as though he had been running forever, and in the back of his mind he realized that he hadn't slowed his pace in a while, but he didn't care. He knew that he had to get away, and that he had to do it fast. He'd never seen exactly what happened to the others, but he'd heard their screams. Whether it was late at night, in the middle of the afternoon, or early in the morning, they were always the same; horrified, scared, and filled with pain. He was determined not to let the same thing happen to him.

His clumsy legs just barely switched directions in time to avoid slamming into the tree that had suddenly appeared in his line of vision. He tripped over a root and stumbled forward, but didn't fall. After that he was careful to look at what was in front of him, but he never slowed. Slowing down meant death, although from what he wasn't sure.

He saw a break in the trees up ahead, and he put on speed. If he could just make it there then he would be home free. His eyes darted from side to side, his animalistic panic getting the better of him. He was almost to the clearing, just a few feet away…

Suddenly something loud rang out, a huge bang that was out of place in the quiet serenity of the woods. Pain exploded in one of his legs, and he fell to the ground, letting out a strangled cry as he made contact with the ground. His breathing became more frantic and labored, and he struggled to get to his feet.

A deep, booming laugh filled his ears, and against his better judgment he turned around. A man was standing mere feet away, watching him with calm, calculating eyes. There was a gun in his hand, resting lazily by his side as he watched his prey in amusement. The game turned around and tried to stumble away, but it was already too late.

The hunter expertly raised the gun and pulled the trigger. As the prey stumbled and collapsed he felt no remorse. Beings less superior than him were meant to be hunted, and the prey was most definitely beneath him. The game was no longer moving, and the hunter had no doubt that he was dead. Without another word he turned around and simply walked away. Christopher would be out later to dispose of the kill, and the hunter would never have to think about it again. He never ate his kills; no, he didn't believe that one should feast on their own spoils. He allowed Christopher to do what he wished with the fallen game, whatever that might be.

He made his way slowly back to his home, breathing in the fresh, cool air. He'd been right; the sheer exhilaration of the hunt had heightened his senses, and his mind was clear. It took about an hour or so to emerge from the woods, and only a few minutes more to reach the house. He could have easily cut the time in half if he'd jogged the distance. It would have been easy, because his body was in the best of conditions. But instead he chose to stroll casually, as though he was simply enjoying a nice walk.

He met Christopher at the top of the porch steps. "It's on The Edge," he said simply. Christopher nodded once and set off for the place that they referred to as "The Edge." It was what they called to very far side where the woods ended. Often game didn't make it that far, but the hunter must have been in a good mood that day.

The hunter watched as Christopher disappeared from sight, inhaling the cool, clean air before stepping inside. He made his way through the long halls, turning corners left and right, before he finally made it back to his private den.

The Mac was in sleep mode, and with the flick of his wrist on the mouse the screen lit up yet again. The hunter began looking through the list yet again, looking for the perfect one. Although the hunt today had been pleasant, it had also been fairly boring, almost insulting. He needed to make sure that the next would give him some sort of challenge. His eyes searched for the perfect game. Something in the bottom corner of the screen caught his eye, and he quickly scrolled down, reading every word carefully. As he read a smile slowly made its way onto his face, growing with every passing second. Soon he was laughing, his deep voice filling the entire room, and he clicked 'print.' Several pages shot out from his printer, and he set them on his desk for Christopher to find. As he stood up and left the room, he felt his anticipation growing as he thought about the game he had just chosen. A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth, and he sighed contently. "Perfect."

* * *

**So there's chapter one. It's a bit shorter than I was hoping for, but hey, what can you do? It should get longer from here, but since the first two chapters or so are just general, normal, background stuff that I'm using to set everything up, it won't be as long and intense as it will be later. But it _will _get intense, that's a promise. And also, this is dedicated to Year 3000, who submitted the idea and has been helping me with a lot of the details. She owns the general plot, I own the little details in between:) So that's all I have to say for now, except that I hope you liked this chapter, and that the boys will be in the next one. Will anyone please review? **


	2. Just a typical Monday

****

And now we have CHAPTER number TWO! Whoo... So the boys are in this chapter, don't worry. But... I didn't like it as much. Like, there were parts I liked, but as a chapter I didn't really like it. Not enough action for me I guess. You'll see.

**Disclaimer: I don't OWN anything BIG time RUSH! (Wouldn't IT be HORRIBLE if I typed EVERYTHING like THIS?)**

* * *

"James, come on! We're going to be late if we don't leave soon!" Kendall yelled, pounding on the door to the bathroom. There was a brief moment of silence, and then the sound of the door unlocking. James appeared, holding his lucky comb in one hand and a can a Cuda hair gel in the other. "Kendall," he began. "I have some things that I have to maintain. And this," he said, gesturing towards his hair, "is one of them." Kendall rolled his eyes and grabbed him by the front of the shirt, dragging him into the living room.

Logan smirked as he listened to James, who was now yelling at the blonde and complaining that he was wrinkling his shirt. "Stop being such a pansy," Kendall said. James shut up, but he was still pouting when Carlos came down the swirly slide. "Let's get it on!" he yelled, slapping his helmet onto his head. Logan raised his eyebrows, watching as the events of the morning unfolded. To anyone else this would have been completely weird, but while at times it varied, most morning were like this for the four sixteen-year-olds.

"Well," Logan said, pushing himself out of the chair that he had been sitting in for the past ten minutes. "Let's get going. If we're late again I think Gustavo might have a heart attack." Behind him Kendall muttered something about having too many Big Mac's being the cause of his heart attack, but Logan ignored it. He had no real desire to be yelled at by the recording producer, especially not on a Monday. Maybe if it were Wednesday or Thursday, or some other time during the week, but not Mondays. Mondays killed all of the boys, but it was the worst for Logan, because he often had to stay up late on Sunday nights to finish the homework that his friends had supposedly "forgotten." He never once complained, because they did favors to pay him back. James was always willing to help him prepare for dates with Camille, Carlos promised that he could always use his helmet (though what Logan would need it for was a mystery to him) and Kendall would drop anything to help him do anything else. Except, apparently, get all of the boys Rocque Records on one of the dreaded Mondays.

He stretched, stiff from sitting in the wooden chair for so long, and headed for the door. He heard his friends following and guessed that none of them wanted to start the day off with an angry Gustavo either. Kendall and James were still arguing about James' morning prep, though, and their voices could be heard quite clearly by everyone.

"You're such a girl."

"You're just jealous because I have The Face."

"You're just in denial because you're such a girl. Girls are always in denial, you know."

"Then you must be of the female gender, because you're clearly in denial about not being as handsome as I am."

The conversation continued on like that until they reached the elevator, with Kendall telling James how girly he thought he was and James trying to get Kendall to admit that he was just hating what he didn't have. They didn't stop talking until the elevator opened and hand flew out, slapping Logan across the face.

Both of them immediately stopped talking and winced at the sound of their friend getting hit, but Logan only smiled as the hand made contact with his face. He ignored the stinging pain and turned his head back just in time to get a kiss on the cheek. "Hey, Camille," he said shyly, smiling softly at his girlfriend.

The girl grinned back at him, pushing a stray piece of hair out her face. "Hey yourself," she said, moving to stand by his side. Logan hesitated, then wrapped an arm around her shoulders. Both of them were blushing, but the way Camille's eyes were sparkling told Logan that he'd made the right move. The five moved towards the door, where a limo was waiting right outside to take the boys to the studio.

As they walked, a bunch of kids waved at them. Tyler yelled a quick "Hi guys!" as he ran past, probably running from his mom. Jo, who was talking to Katie in a corner, looked up and smiled at Kendall, giving a small wave. A crowd of newbies who were surrounding Guitar Dude shouted different greetings, which ranged from, "Hey, guys!" to "That campfire sing along last night was awesome!" to "Can you guys get me some to tickets to this concert?" Then there were the Jennifers, who completely ignored all of them as they walked by. Just a typical morning at the Palm Woods.

Outside, the warm Los Angeles air hit all of them. It was still fairly early in the morning, and they all knew that the day would only get hotter. Even though it was going to be long and most likely miserable, at least Rocque Records was air conditioned. Gustavo was very adamant about the studio always being exactly sixty seven point three degrees, for reasons that no one knew and that the boys didn't really want to find out. James and Carlos ran for the limo, fighting over who would get to sit where, and Kendall followed close behind, shaking his head. Logan and Camille stood a little further back, smiling as they watched.

Logan turned to Camille. "I'll see you later?" he said hopefully. She laughed and nodded. "You'd better." She leaned forward to give him another kiss on the cheek. "See you later," she whispered before turning to go back into the Palm Woods. Logan watched her until she was no longer in sight and sighed. He was really beginning to think that he was in love with her, even though they'd only been dating for a few months. Still, there just something about her that Logan couldn't get enough of. Shaking his head, he climbed into the limo, his head in the clouds for the entire ride to the recording studio.

* * *

The boys ran into the recording studio and all of their eyes flying to the clock on the wall. "Dogs!" Gustavo yelled as he emerged from his office. Kelly followed close behind, rolling her eyes as she listened to him scream. "You are… on time." The boys looked at each other excitedly, smiling. The day couldn't be _that _terrible since they'd gotten there on time, right?

Wrong.

"Now I know that you boys think that it's cool to show up 'fashionably' late," Gustavo began. "But this is the opposite of true. I expect you dogs to get here five minutes _early _from now on. Are we clear? Good. Now get in the recording booth and start working on harmonies." James and Carlos looked crestfallen at his words. Logan was a little upset, but Gustavo had a tendency of going over the top to get to the top. Kendall, however, was just plain mad. "What? How were we supposed to know?" Things went straight downhill from there.

Within seconds Kendall and Gustavo were in a screaming match, each one trying to see who could yell the loudest. Immediately Kelly was trying to get in between them, reminding them that they needed to get started, but that only seemed to push them further. James and Carlos moved to stand behind their leader and joined in on the shouting. Logan stepped in, trying to reason with Kendall. "Come on, man, it's not like we've never done harmonies before. Let's just get it over with so that we can move on with rehearsal, okay? The sooner we get this done, the sooner we get to go home." Logan's words had just the effect he'd been hoping for, because Kendall became somewhat calm. It was like a chain reaction. As soon as Kendall stopped screaming, James followed suit, then Carlos, and finally, Gustavo.

The singer and the producer glared at each other, but neither of them said anything more. Kelly shot Logan a grateful look and gently pushed the boys towards the booth. "Logan's right. Let's _try_, key word being try, to refrain from killing each other for at least a little while, okay?" The boys nodded reluctantly, and they all filed into the recording booth. Gustavo looked at them through the window, looking merciless. "Yes, let's not try to kill each other."

Hours later the boys stumbled out of the recording booth, all of their throats sore. "That… was… _horrible,_" Carlos rasped. Logan didn't say anything; speaking hurt too much. Never, in all of the time that they'd worked under Gustavo, had the man been so cruel. He'd once almost punished them with ten straight hours of harmonies, but he hadn't gone through with it, and now Logan understood why. Singing for that long was one of the most painful things he'd ever had to do.

Gustavo and Kelly emerged from the studio, and Gustavo looked smug. "You're such a turd!" Kendall yelled, but his voice was so hoarse that it only made him sound stupid. Gustavo only smirked. "You dogs need to learn to respect your master, aka _me. _You know that sometimes I'll throw you treats, and now you know that sometimes I'll squirt you with those training water bottles." If Logan could have made any sound without it causing him pain he would have laughed. Apparently Gustavo's idea of a training water bottle was inflicting torture upon them. Logan sighed, and immediately regretted it. He hated Mondays.

"You're done for the day, boys," Kelly said, trying to make up for her boss's cruelty. It didn't do anything but give them all a huge feeling of relief, and before the producer could argue all four boys were sprinting for the elevators, desperate to get away.

The boys ran all the way to the limo, throwing themselves in as though they expected Gustavo to come running out, telling them that they had more rehearsing to do. "Glad that's over," James whispered hoarsely. They all grabbed one of the waiting bottles of water that the limo always had stocked and drank, downing each and every bottle they could find. By the time they were done they felt a little sick from all the water, but it was worth it to ease the ache in their throats.

"Someone tell me something good before I die from the horribleness of today," Carlos mumbled, closing his eyes tiredly. "Uhhh…" The vehicle was silent as they all tried to think of something. Logan looked out the window, pondering, and noticed a small, black van that was a few cars behind them. For whatever reason he found himself staring at it. The driver, who was wearing dark sunglasses, seemed to be staring straight back. Logan frowned, but before he could say anything Kendall spoke up. "Well, it's Mac and Cheese Monday, right?"

Everyone groaned at his lame attempt to cheer them up, and Logan looked out the window again. His eyes searched the road, trying to find the van again, but it was just… gone. Frowning, he shook his head and turned his attention back to the others, deciding to put it out of his mind. There was nothing strange about a van in L.A. Logan sighed and leaned his head against the seat, exhaustion taking over.

Something buzzed, and he felt his phone vibrate once in his pocket, signaling that he had a new next. He sighed and pulled out his cell, quickly reading the text. It was from Camille, and it said that she wasn't going to be able to meet him until tomorrow because of a last minute audition. He sighed once again and settled back into the seat.

And _this _was why he hated Mondays.

* * *

**So Logan hates Mondays. Don't we all? And huh. I wasn't aware that I could end a chapter without it being a cliffhanger. Huh;) I'm sorry for the lack of any action whatsoever, but it's coming soon, so just bear with me. Please? And did I fail with the Logan/Camille romance? Because if I did then I'm sorry. There's a reason I don't write romance, and that plays a big part in it. So what'd you think? Despite the lack of epicness, was it okay? Let me know in a review, please!**


	3. Tuesdays can't be worse than Mondays

**This chapter is just like the last one, except for the end. Wonderful. But after this the turmoil begins -dies- So yeah. Thank you for all the reviews you guys have left so far. It means a lot. And some of you know that I moved this from M to T. It could easily go back up, but for now I think it should be T. Could it change? Oh, absolutely, and if need be, I will. But for it's T. Whoo! Yeah...**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Big Time Rush**

* * *

Tuesday. The word brought a huge sense of relief to Logan. Tuesday. It was a day when the week was still fresh, but at the same time you kind of had a better idea of what you were jumping into. That also meant that the school week would be starting today, which meant that he would have at least four hours to prepare himself for whatever horrible thing that Gustavo had in store for them.

According to the Actors, Singers, and Performer's Association, they had to attend four hours of school each day. When they said each day, they meant Tuesday through Friday, with Mondays optional. Logan remembered seeing somewhere that students could only miss Mondays if their schedule just didn't allow time for it, which, whether it was fortunate or unfortunate, was the case for the boys.

Most of the time Logan enjoyed this fact. Despite his love for anything educational, he was still a teenage boy. The idea of having nearly equal weekend and week days was a concept that had been completely foreign to him until coming to L.A. And while it seriously cut into the time that he could be learning new material, and at times could be painful, as yesterday had shown, Logan found it to be one of the greatest things in the whole world.

That was why he found himself smiling like nobody's business as he sat in class, waiting for Miss Collins to call the class to attention. Camille was sitting in front of him, and just as he was about to reach out and tap her shoulder she turned around, matching his smile. "So how was your audition?" Logan asked immediately.

His heart sank as her smile faltered. Even though she'd not gotten the part dozens of times, each time she got rejected a small part of her was crushed, something that hurt Logan more than anything. It killed him to see anyone he cared about upset, even when it was over small things. No, _especially_ over small things, because in Logan's opinion the pain that minor things caused was just plain unnecessary.

He'd only ever explained that to his friends. He'd tried to put in into hockey terms, to help them understand it better, but they were still confused. So he'd used another simile: "It's like when someone goes hunting, and instead of just shooting the animal and killing it immediately, the hunter decides to prolong the pain, even though the animal is going to die eventually. I mean, why cause something to suffer more than it has to? It just isn't right." He still wasn't sure that they completely understood him, but at least a little of his thinking had become clearer to them.

So when Camille's face fell he felt more upset than most people would. He knew that she was a talented actress, and that she completely deserved to get whatever part she tried out for. He wasn't sure why she didn't get them very often, but from what James had told him about the audition they'd gone to together, he decided it was just because they couldn't handle the way she threw herself into whatever role she was going for. It was a tragedy, but it was the movie's loss more than anything.

"I didn't get the part," she said quietly. Logan reached out and put his hand on her shoulder, trying to be comforting. "I'm sorry," he whispered back. She'd gotten good at handling rejection, and in a few seconds she had yet another smile on her face. "It's okay. There will be more, right?" Logan nodded, trying with all his might to look hopeful, and in truth, he was. He had faith in her, just like he had faith in everyone. "So…" Camille asked, trying to change the subject. "How was rehearsal?"

While Camille was great at going from sad to happy, Logan completely failed at it. He couldn't stop the groan that escaped his lips, nor could he stop himself from closing his eyes and shaking his head. "Gustavo is such a man beast," he mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck. When he opened his eyes he found Camille still smiling at him, laughter dancing in her eyes.

She let out a quiet laugh, and then slowly it got louder and louder. Logan felt himself joining her, and within seconds both of them were doubled over, red in the faces. "What- is so- funny?" Logan gasped out, before bursting out in hysterics again. Camille shook her head, attempting to calm down, to no avail. "I don't- know! I just- can't believe- we both had- such terrible- days!"

There was nothing funny about the fact that they'd both had bad days, but they found themselves continuing to laugh anyway. They finally had to stop when Miss Collins announced that class was beginning. Camille turned around in her seat, and both of them were quiet as their teacher began a lesson in math. Worksheets were passed out, and soon Logan was absorbed in his schoolwork.

The minute he finished the last problem, which was about ten minutes after he'd gotten it, Logan looked up, trying to find something to keep him occupied until it was time to move onto the next lesson. He caught sight of Carlos, who seemed to be doodling something in the margin on his paper. Kendall looked like he was actually trying to get his work done, but the way he was tapping his pencil told Logan that he didn't really care about it. And then James, of course, was combing his hair with one hand and solving problems with the other. Oddly enough, he seemed to be the farthest one along. Logan shook his head; maybe that comb really was lucky.

Something out of the corner of his eye caught his attention, and he found himself looking at Camille. Her back was to him, but her whole body was shaking uncontrollably. Logan watched her for a few seconds, his first reaction being concern. But then he heard her let out a choked laugh, and before he could stop himself, Logan lost control and began laughing hysterically.

Logan had to stay five minutes after class and listen to Miss Collins give a long lecture about how he couldn't disrupt the class with his laughter, because "while his brain was some super fancy computer, the rest of the class needed to be able to concentrate on their work without distractions." Logan sat through the little speech in silence, keeping all emotion from his face. When the teacher finally told him that he was free to go he shot out of the classroom, his eyes immediately searching for his friends.

He found them off to the side, having a conversation with Camille and Jo. Carlos saw him first, and his eyes lit up. "Logan! She didn't eat you!" Everyone stared at him. "Eat him?" Kendall asked, raising an eyebrow. Carlos blinked and nodded. "Why would she eat him?" James asked. Carlos looked at him as though it were the stupidest question he'd ever heard. "Um, she's a _teacher,_" he said in a "well, _duh_," tone. Camille and Jo giggled while the boys just shook their heads.

"Boys!" a familiar voice called. Everyone turned around to see Kelly standing by the door to the lobby, waving impatiently. "Come on! We need to go!" The boys let out a collective sigh. "We'd better go," Logan said unhappily. Camille smiled and immediately his spirits lifted. "I'll see you later?" she asked shyly. Logan nodded and gave a small smile. "Count on it." Behind him Carlos and James let out an, "Awww," but he didn't care. Nothing could get him down. "I'll catch you later," he said, waving as the boys made their way towards Kelly.

If only he knew how wrong he was.

* * *

"Dogs!" Gustavo yelled. The boys cringed and shrank away. "You are five minutes early. Congratulations," the man said overenthusiastically. "Although I'm sure that was mostly thanks to Kelly." Kendall glared at him, but he was careful to keep his mouth shut. No one wanted a repeat of the day before.

"X is waiting for you. Now get in there, and try not to mess things up too much." His words were harsh, but the sadistic gleam that had been in his eyes the day before was nowhere to be found, so the boys felt a little more at ease.

Carlos ran to the room where X was waiting. Dancing had always been his favorite part of performing, because it was what he was best at. When they had first come to L.A. they'd said he was tone deaf, but his dancing wasn't that bad. His never ending energy probably helped a lot, because while singing made your throat sore and speaking and laughing hurt, dancing got his adrenaline pumping. He waited for the choreographer to give him instructions, bouncing on his heels in anticipation.

They were only fifteen minutes into rehearsal when Gustavo burst through the door. "Stop, stop, STOP!" he yelled. The music cut off and everyone stared at him expectantly. "I just got off the phone with Griffin, and apparently we need to start planning your next tour _immediately. _So Kelly and I are going to go down to his office and try to get started on that. So… We're done here. The limo will be here to pick you up in half an hour."

The boys stared at him in disbelief. That was it? None of them were about to argue, because frankly the idea of leaving the studio early was more than appealing. Gustavo stood there awkwardly for another minute before leaving. "X-cellent," X said, crossing his arms to form an "X" before lunging out the door. That left the boys all alone in the studio.

Logan glanced down at his watch. "It's only one o'clock," he said, pleasantly surprised. That meant that they had a good ten hours left in the day before Mrs. Knight forced them to go the bed.

Carlos disappeared for a moment, and when he returned he was holding four water bottles. "So should we just hang out here for a while? Gustavo said the limo wouldn't be here for an hour, so we don't really have a choice, do we?" he pointed out as he handed out the bottles. The others nodded in agreement, moving to sit on the couch that was on the other side of the studio.

The boys all relaxed, putting their feet on the little table in front of them. Carlos opened his water and drank, making a face as he did so. "Gotta love the L.A. water supply," he muttered, eyeing it with distaste for taking another sip. The others rolled their eyes and began drinking there drinks as well.

As soon as the water entered his mouth Logan wanted to spit it back out. Carlos was right; the water was gross. It had a weird, almost bitter taste to it. His thirst got the better of him, however, and soon the bottle was empty. The others threw their empty bottles carelessly on the ground, while he set his neatly on the table. "Nice, Logan," Kendall said, rolling his eyes and smirking.

Carlos and James laughed, and then they all fell into a comfortable silence. Logan suddenly felt tired, despite the fact that rehearsal had been so easy. He glanced up and noticed that Carlos had actually fallen asleep, his head lolling to the side as he snored. Logan smiled and looked over at James and Kendall. Both of them were staring straight ahead, but they looked really tired, too. Logan frowned. Had the previous day really taken that much out of them?

As if to answer his question Kendall let out a huge yawn. "Man," he muttered, blinking sleepily. "If Gustavo keeps this up he's going to kill us…" And then suddenly he was asleep, too.

Logan frowned, but James looked more amused than anything. "Should we wake them up?" Logan asked. None of them had ever fallen asleep like this. James shook his head, trying to fight the growing weight on his eyes. "Nah, just let them sleep. They're just tired." Logan nodded, but something was still bothering him. "Yeah, I know, but-" He looked up and bit his lip; James had fallen asleep as well.

Logan looked around at his sleeping friends. They looked so peaceful that he didn't want to wake them up, but the limo would be arriving any minute, and besides, they could sleep when they got back to the Palm Woods. He stood up and stumbled as a sudden wave of dizziness washed over him. "What the…" Logan tried to take a step, but his legs suddenly felt heavy, like someone was holding his ankles and trying to stop him from moving. Black tinged the edge of his vision, and he felt himself beginning to lose balance. "Guys…" But there was no response.

Logan swayed were he stood, using all of his concentration on remaining upright. Something was wrong. He was wasn't sure what it was, but something was definitely wrong. Logan put his hand on the wall, leaning against it to stay standing, and he noticed something on the floor. "The water…" he muttered. Before he could think anything else, though, his knees buckled, and he fell to the ground, finally succumbing to unconsciousness.

* * *

**Hehe, hehe, yeah... There's a little cliffhanger for ya:) Please don't kill me for it. Logan's laugh attack was random. I have NO idea where it came from. It just... happened. So what did you think. Yes, no? Feedback makes my heart warm:) Please review?**


	4. Cages

**This chapter creeped me out. Like, I went back and read it and I was shuddering. Maybe it's not that creepy to you all, but it was to me. Like, seriously. You'll see. And did you see the new Big Time Rush? I laughed so hard when I saw James in a cage. It wasn't even funny how hard I was laughing. And then his haircut... I LOVE IT! There's just something about it that I find amazing:) And I think Jenny Tinkler and I should become best friends because of how accident prone she is and how many times she's hurt James;) Anyways, thank you for all the amazing reviews, and I hope you like this chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Big Time Rush (I know, I was surprised too -rolls eyes-)**

* * *

Logan groaned as he suddenly came to. His head was pounding, and his whole body felt like it was being weighed down. He shifted where he lay, trying to get comfortable. It was really cold in the room he was in, and his bed seemed way too hard. He moved around, desperate to get the sleep that he needed, and froze as his head hit something solid and cold. He opened his eyes to see a metal bar right in front of his face.

"What…" Logan forced himself to sit up, moaning as his headache worsened. He closed his eyes and pinched his nose, waiting for the pain to diminish a little. How tired had rehearsal left him? And then he remembered: it hadn't. Logan's eyes snapped open as everything came rushing back, and he jumped backwards with a start as he realized that he was in a cage. "Oh crap…"

Immediately his hand flew for his pocket, fingers searching frantically for his phone. A sense of panic had gripped his heart in a hard vise, tightening as Logan searched desperately for his cell. Front pockets, no. Back pockets, no. He reached up for his jacket to check, only to realize that his jacket was gone. His breathing picked up as he searched for his phone again, but he had a growing feeling of dread, and wasn't surprised when he couldn't find it. He closed his eyes and leaned his head against the cool metal bars, taking deep breaths in a lame attempt to calm himself down. When you wake up in a cage it's surprisingly difficult to stay calm, cool and collected.

Finally Logan forced his eyes open again. The panic hadn't lessened in the least. If anything it had grown, because another question popped up, one that he feared to know the answer to: Where were his friends?

Logan looked through the bars, straining to see anything. There was one, single light bulb in the room, casting an eerie light. The bulb flickered and threatened to go out, but to Logan's immense relief it continued to shine ever so slightly. Logan tore his eyes away from it and looked around the room.

It wasn't an incredibly big room, maybe a little bit smaller than their living room back at the Palm Woods. Logan fought back the tears that had been threatening to spill over ever since he'd come to as he thought about their home. Would anyone be worried about them yet? How long had they been missing? Looking down at his wrist, Logan noticed that his watch, too, was missing.

The room was plain, with wooden walls and a wooden floor, but that wasn't what caught his attention. It was the cages. The room was filled with half a dozen cages, about five by five. But Logan didn't even care about _that. _No, the only thing that really mattered to him was that four of the other cages were occupied.

The cages were arranged to that there were two columns and three rows. Logan had a cage on either side of him, and there were three across the room. He saw James in the cage directly across from him. His hair was messy for once, splayed out on the floor of the cage. His tall frame must have made it uncomfortable for him to lay there, because his body was folded awkwardly, his legs bent and pulled to his chest.

To James' right, from Logan's point of view, was Carlos. The Latino was motionless, but Logan could see his chest raising and falling as he breathed evenly. He looked so peaceful, as though he were just asleep on the couch back at the Palm Woods. The thing that seemed most out of place, besides the fact that he was in a cage, was the absence of his helmet. Carlos' short black hair was wild. The fact that he didn't have his helmet to hide the messiness broke something inside of Logan, even though he was horribly aware that the protective gear should have been the least of his worries.

And then to Logan's right was Kendall. The blonde was frowning in his sleep, but he showed no sign of waking up. Like the rest of the boys, his jacket was gone, and Logan was fairly certain that none of them had their cells on them. But something else caught Logan's eye. He stared at Kendall's arm, trying to make sense of it. It was wrapped with a white bandage, but that didn't make sense. From what Logan could remember, they had been drugged, which meant that they shouldn't be injured. So why was Kendall's arm bandaged?

Logan looked down and realized that his arm, too, was bandaged. Frowning to himself, he raised a trembling hand and began to pull it off. His fingers were shaking as he unwrapped the bandage, but he needed to know why it was there. Slowly, ever so slowly, Logan unwound it, until finally it fell gently into his lap. He looked at his arm, more confused than ever. It was stitched, and it almost looked like a professional job. Logan touched the area gently and hissed in pain, jerking his back. But he'd felt something, just below the skin. Something solid that was out of place. He didn't know what it was, but it couldn't be good.

Logan could only stare at the wound for a few seconds. His brain was working in overdrive, but he couldn't find any answers to his never ending list of questions. All he knew was that he and his friends were sitting in cages, making a square, that he had something in his arm, and that he had no idea where he was or how he'd gotten there. That did nothing to help him. He wanted to scream in frustration, to throw something against the bars of the cage, to yell and cry and just let it all out. But he couldn't. And that made it all the worse.

A movement out of the corner of his eye caught his attention, and his head snapped to the side, looking at the other cage. For the first time he realized that there was someone else in the room with them. Logan felt relief flood through him as he stared at the figure in front of him. It was an adult, and that meant that he could get some answers and get some help.

"Hey!" he called, trying to get the man's attention. He felt his heart begin to sink, getting lower and lower as he took in the man's appearance. Tired, bloodshot eyes stared back at him, filled with pain and despair. A pale, haggard face, limp arms, and a stance that screamed of hopelessness. The man continued to look at him, saying nothing as he looked at the teenager before him.

Logan swallowed, his momentary relief and excitement long gone. "C-can you help us?" he asked, his voice wavering uncertainly. No answer. Logan felt himself begin to tremble again. "What's your name?" he tried. He didn't care if the man couldn't tell him what was going on; he just needed him to say _something_, to do something to remind Logan that he had human company and that he wasn't alone. But still the man didn't answer.

"Can you tell me what's going on? Why are we here? What are they going to do to us? Please, I need _something_," he begged desperately, but his pleas were met by more silence. Logan closed his eyes and allowed his head to rest against the bars, tears spilling down his cheeks. "Please…" he whimpered.

"They hunt." The words were almost inaudible, but in the smothering silence Logan was able to hear them clearly. "What?" he whispered. The man didn't say anything more, instead lapsing into silence again, but Logan didn't care.

What did he mean? _"They hunt."_ That didn't make any sense. What did that have to do with anything? So they hunted. What did that have to do with Logan and the others? Now Logan was more confused than ever.

Logan looked around the room, checking to see if he'd missed anything. There were no windows and only one door, which was most likely locked. Other than that the room was completely empty. The silence that filled the room was deafening, and Logan was really beginning to wish that one of his friends would wake up. "Guys," he called out softly. None of his friends stirred. Logan opened his mouth to yell even louder but he was interrupted by a small yet sharp noise from the adjacent cage. _Click._

Logan turned his head slowly, just in time to see the door to the stranger's cage swing open. The man sat there for a minute, staring at it in amazement. Then slowly, ever so slowly, he stood up, climbing out of the cage and looking around. He took a step toward the door, his pace quickening with each step.

Logan felt his panic surge and grabbed the bars to his cage, shaking them desperately. "Hey, wait! Where are you going?" The man didn't slow his pace. "Wait, come back! You have to help us, please!"

The man turned back, and Logan saw little remorse in his eyes. "Sorry, kid, but I can't. If I don't leave now they'll get me! I have to get out, and get back to my family." His hand closed around the doorknob and he flung it open. "I'm sorry!" he called over his shoulder. Then the door slammed closed behind him, leaving the boys alone once again.

Logan stared at the door. His heart didn't sink any lower; it couldn't, because he was pretty sure it had fallen out of his shoes by then. He could only stare at the door with wide, horrified eyes. Then all of his frustration boiled over and he grabbed the bars again, shaking the cage. A scream tore from his throat, raw and filled with every messed up emotion he was feeling. "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

It felt like he screamed for hours, but he knew it couldn't be that long. The sound of his screams echoed throughout the room as Logan gasped for breath. He sat back, trying to control the sobs that were suddenly bursting forth. He didn't understand why any of this was happening. What had they done to deserve this? Why was this happening to them? It wasn't fair. He listened as his scream echoed of the walls. And echoed. And echoed.

Logan froze. He didn't move, didn't breathe, didn't do _anything _as he listened to the scream. It wasn't echoing as he'd first thought; no, this scream didn't even belong to him. And then suddenly it was silent again.

Someone groaned from across the room, and Logan looked up to see James slowly sitting up. He clutched his head, scrunching his eyes shut as his head spun. Logan looked at him and opened his mouth to speak, but James beat him to the punch. "What happened?" he mumbled, finally opening his eyes. Logan opened his mouth to respond, but again he was interrupted, but this time not by James.

Another scream could be heard in the distance, this one louder and more pain filled than the last. James' eyes widened, and he and Logan looked at each other in horror. "What's happening?" James whispered.

Then, as if to mock them, the light bulb flickered and went out, encasing the boys in complete darkness.

* * *

**See what I meant? Creepy. Logan is actually holding it together really well. The others... won't be as strong as he is. You'll see. So I hope you like this (I really, really do (hope you like it, that is)) Please review!**


	5. Broken Records

**And so it will begin. Everything that happens in this story is like a chain reaction. One thing will set of another, and then another, and then another, and so on. So pay attention! And thank you for all the reviews! I turned on my phone after school and checked my email and it was like "Oh, 30 new emails!" Seriously, that completely made my day, which had not been going as good as I would have liked. So thank you:)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Big Time Rush**

* * *

The scream was still echoing in Logan's ears ten minutes later. He could hear James gasping across the room, terrified out of his mind. His sobs were loud and filled with fear, but they sounded muffled to Logan. The scream had long since stopped, but he could still hear it. It played in his head over and over again like a broken record, torturing him. What had happened to that poor man?

"Guys?" a small voice called out from near James. Carlos. "Guys, what's going on?" he asked shakily. Logan's heart broke when he heard the confusion in the younger boy's voice. James' sobs quieted, but his breathing was still jerky, telling them that he was having a hard time controlling his emotions. "Are you okay, Carlos?" Logan asked quietly.

"I-" The Latino broke off as he sat up and hit his head on something hard. "What-" Logan flinched at the sudden panic in his voice. "Oh my god… Are we in cages?" he whimpered. Logan didn't want to answer. Saying yes would make it too real. "Are we in cages?" Carlos screamed. Logan felt himself begin to tremble and shook his head, even though Carlos wouldn't be able to see it in the pitch black. "Yes," he whispered.

Carlos' breathing picked up, matching James'. "What? No! Why are we in cages?" he shouted. He grabbed the bar, his hands searching for a lever or a button or _something _that would open the cage, so that he could get out. But there was nothing. Carlos felt his panic growing, blocking out any logical thoughts his mind could have produced. "We have to get out of here!" he screamed, pounding against the cage. "We have to get out…" he said softly, sinking back to the ground. The defeat in his voice was heart wrenching. He'd only been awake for a few minutes and already he was giving up.

"Carlos, calm down," Logan said, hoping that no one else heard the way his voice was trembling. Both Carlos and James took deep breaths, reacting immediately to Logan's knowing tone and trying to regain some control of their panic. Gradually their breathing slowed, and while the sense of fear hadn't lessened any, they were at least a little more relaxed than they had been before.

"Okay, now-" Logan was interrupted by a groan to his right. "Ugh, my head…" Kendall moaned, and Logan listened as he slowly sat up. "Guys? Why are the lights off?" Logan sighed, his heart growing heavier as he realized that he was going to have to explain once again that they were in cages. "Kendall-"

Kendall cut him off. "Wait, where are we? It's _freezing _in here. Seriously, will one of you go turn on the heater or something?" Logan shook his head. How was it that Kendall didn't realize that he was in a cage? "Kendall, listen to me very closely," he said gently. He was met by silence, so he took that as a cue to continue. "We're in cages. I don't know where exactly we are, but I'm pretty sure we've been kidnapped. There was another guy in here, but he…" Logan didn't know what had happened to him, so he just let himself trail off. "Kendall, I-I don't know what's going on."

There was a moment of silence, and then Kendall spoke up. "Okay, we need to figure out how to get out of here." His voice was dead calm as he slipped into his role as leader, something that unnerved Logan. As strong as he was, not even Kendall could stop himself from freaking out in a situation like this. There was another pause, and then Kendall started gasping. "Kendall?"

Suddenly the light flickered back on, and all of the boys could see their leader. He was doubled over, clutching his chest. His whole body was trembling violently, and he looked as though he couldn't take in enough air. "Kendall!" Carlos cried. "Can't… breathe…" Kendall gasped. "Need… to get… out!" Logan felt his heart sink as he listened to his friend. "It's a panic attack!"

The scared, confused Logan was replaced by the doctor Logan. "Kendall? Kendall, look at me. Focus on my voice, and don't worry. It'll all be over in a minute. Just ride it out, it'll all be okay. Kendall, focus on me." Logan made his voice as gentle and comforting as possible.

Kendall continued to gasp and splutter, his cheeks turning red, almost as though he were blushing. "Shhh, Kendall, you're okay, you're okay," Logan murmured. Kendall clutched his chest even tighter, closing his eyes as he tried to fight the panic. Logan noticed this and shook his head. "No, Kendall, don't go against it. Just let it run itself out, it will be over soon, I promise."

Kendall opened his eyes and looked at Logan in terror. "Am… I going to… die?" he choked out, his words broken by gasps. Logan shook his head quickly. "No, no! You're going to be okay, Kendall. Just go with the flow, okay? You'll be fine."

Kendall didn't respond, only focused on breathing. His head was spinning, and his whole body felt as though it were on fire. Logan's voice sounded weird, distorted almost. His chest hurt like crazy and he felt like he was going to be sick. It scared the living crap out of him, and he prayed that it would be over soon, like Logan had promised.

James and Carlos watched with wide eyes as Logan tried to help Kendall, unsure of what to do. For a good five minutes Kendall gasped for air while Logan talked to him, trying to calm him down. Finally, after what felt like forever, Kendall's breathing slowed, and he relaxed against the cage, taking deep breaths. Logan sat back, looking relieved. "It's over now, Kendall," he said softly. Kendall didn't respond.

He was still panicking. Sure, his panic attack had stopped, but the fear was still there. They'd been kidnapped. _Kidnapped. _It didn't make any sense. Why had they been kidnapped? Hawk had kidnapped them once, but that had been different. At least then they'd had some idea of what was going on. Now they didn't know where they were, who had taken them, what was going to happen, _nothing. _It was terrible.

Kendall could feel himself slowly losing a grip on everything, and he hated it. The guys needed him, but what could he do if he was just barely clinging to the edge? He couldn't. And that fact scared him more than anything.

He couldn't do it; he couldn't be the leader this time. He'd been the leader ever since he'd met his friends all those years ago, but he'd never been faced with something like this. He'd always laughed when he watched crime dramas with his friends, because everyone was always freaking out and screaming and going crazy. Now he knew exactly how they felt.

"Kendall?" Carlos asked hesitantly. He sounded so lost and confused, but there was nothing Kendall could do. He was just as lost, and for once he truly didn't know what to do. No plans were coming to mind, and he didn't expect them to. His mind was slowly shutting down, and he was shutting everything out.

Carlos opened his mouth again, but no sound came out. Kendall wasn't going to answer, he just knew it. He was so confused. Why was this happening to them? Had they done something wrong? Carlos searched his mind, trying to think of anything that might have brought this terrible situation upon them, but he came up blank. So did that mean it was random? He couldn't wrap his mind around the possibility, because who would be that cruel? Carlos put his head in his hands and pulled at his hair. It just didn't make sense.

James didn't know what to do. His clumsy fingers were brushing his hair, a nervous habit that he had picked up back in Minnesota. Usually he used his comb, but he was unable to find it anywhere. He could hear Carlos sobbing next to him, Logan's shaky breathing, and from Kendall… nothing. He couldn't bring himself to look over at their leader, the one who was supposed to be fearless and get them out of everything, because he was afraid of what he would see. What would he do if he found Kendall broken? Kendall was the one who always put everything back together, the one who never fell apart. So James was almost one hundred percent positive that they would have the hardest time putting all the pieces of Kendall back in the puzzle.

James felt lightheaded, and briefly wondered if he was in shock. He didn't know any of the symptoms, but he remembered Logan telling him once that shock was often associated with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. The post in PTSD was supposed to mean 'after' but James was pretty sure that there was nothing after about the situation. He was still in the middle of it, and there was no telling when he would get out.

Logan watched his friends, trying to decide what to do. His friends were breaking apart before his very eyes, and he had no clue how to stop it. Carlos was sobbing, Kendall had started muttering to himself, and now James wasn't saying anything at all. To say that he was scared would be an understatement; in fact, understatement was putting it lightly. If they got out of this- No, _when _they got out of this, Logan was sure that he would need to be put in a mental ward. But they _would _get out of it. He would keep telling himself that, because if he gave up… Then there would be no surviving.

All at once his decision was made. He had no idea of how it was going to play out, or how well it would work. But he knew he had to do it. He didn't want to do it; quite honestly it was one of the last things he wanted to do. He wasn't sure that he could handle it, all the responsibility, but he _was _sure that none of his friends were going to do it. It was settled; he was going to have to step up and be the leader.

Logan sighed, rubbing his temple as he tried to get rid of the headache that had suddenly appeared. Suddenly he was tired, as though the knowledge of the burden that he now had was already taking his energy. Looking over, he saw that Kendall had already dropped off to sleep. James and Carlos looked exhausted, but unwilling to fall asleep. They were probably afraid of what they would see in their dreams, and Logan couldn't blame them. He didn't even want to consider what he would see once he closed his eyes, but he knew he had to.

"Guys, we should get some sleep," he said softly. James and Carlos didn't respond, but he was sure they'd heard him. In the never ending silence of the room, every sound was like a gunshot. "If we want any chance of getting out of here then we're going to need all the strength we can get." There was silence for a few moments, and when Logan looked back up he saw that both of his friends were sound asleep.

Logan took one last look at them and then allowed himself to give in to the exhaustion, losing himself in a world of black.

* * *

**Don't worry, they weren't drugged again. This time it really was just exhaution. So what did you think? A little teeny tiny bit of action for Kendall, but other than that it was mainly just angst. The first chapters won't have much action (even though this is, like, the fifth chapter) But trust me, there WILL be action later. That's a promise:) Oh, random (or at least unrelated to fanfiction) note: BTR's album comes out next Monday! Whoo! I don't know about you guys, but I plan on listening to it all day. But that's not what I wanted to tell you. So I already have the album pre-ordered on iTunes, and next to the song 'This Is Our Someday' it says 'Only Available On Pre-order.' I don't know what the deal is with the in-store albums, but if you're going to get it on iTunes I suggest you get it soon. That's all:) So, reviews?**


	6. Who, What, When, Where, Why?

**This chapter was supposed to be up yesterday, but I was excessively busy and didn't get to work on it-dies- I'm really sorry, because I HATE not being able to update as often as I used to. Oh well. You know how it is. So this chapter is mainly just angst, _again. _The action won't start up for about... two more chapters? That sounds about right, so please bear with me. And before I start the chapter, I have to thank you guys for all the amazing reviews. Seriously, you guys win for that, and I can't thank you enough.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Big Time Rush**

* * *

The darkness slowly lifted, dragging Logan back to reality. His eyes opened and then closed again, shrinking away from the bright light. Wait, bright? Logan's eyes snapped open again and he sat up, looking around.

The first thing that caught his eye was the light; it had been changed. He wasn't sure when or how, but sometime during the night, or whatever time it was, someone had come in and changed the bulb, replacing it with one that was much better at lighting up the room. But the light wasn't the only thing they'd left.

In front of Logan was a little tray of food. Someone must have brought it in during the night, again without managing to wake him up. It wasn't much, just some fruit and a piece of bread, but that didn't matter. It was _food. _Before Logan could think better of it he lunged forward, grabbing as much food as his hands could hold. He ate it quickly, as though he were afraid that if he didn't someone would come in and take it from him.

It was all gone within seconds, as was the glass of water that stood next to it. It actually wasn't even a glass; much to Logan's dark amusement, it was in a little Dixie cup, one with flowers on it no less. There hadn't been more than a few small sips, but Logan was a tiny bit grateful; at least they weren't going to starve.

He shifted his body slowly, sore from sleeping on the cold, hard metal. Carlos and James were already awake. Carlos was staring at him, looking a bit expectant, and James was staring at his own empty tray, looking a bit sad. Logan glanced down and saw that Carlos' tray was empty as well and sighed. "How long have you been up?" he asked tiredly.

He was answered with two shrugs. "Who knows?" James muttered. Logan frowned at him, biting his lip. "Okay," he said quickly, desperate to change the subject. "Never mind. Did you guys get any sleep?"

Again they shrugged. "I got sleep," Carlos said quietly. Logan smiled at him. "Well that's good-" Carlos cut him off, looking at him with dead eyes. "I also got nightmares," he whispered. James nodded, signaling that he'd had the same kind of night. Logan felt his heart sinking. This wasn't going well.

Logan glanced at Kendall's sleeping form, trying to turn their attention away from their nightmares. "Has he woken up?" he asked. James sighed, closing his eyes briefly. "No, but I heard him screaming in his sleep last night," he deadpanned. Logan winced. James' words sounded cold and emotionless, but he could hear the distress that was lying right below the surface. There was no doubt in his mind that it was eating away at James, and Carlos, and Kendall. It was eating away at him, too, but he was trying to ignore it, focusing all his attention on his friends. They were what mattered the most.

There was a moment of silence. For once it was awkward, something that they were unused to. That just made it ten times more uncomfortable. Logan searched his mind, desperately trying to come up with something that would distract the others, but James spoke up before he got the chance. "So why do you think this is happening?"

At first no one answered, but finally Logan spoke up. That's what Kendall would have done, if he had been awake and mentally stable. "Maybe it's just a prank?" he suggested weakly. James and Carlos laughed, but it was a bitter sound. "Yeah, I'm sure," James said, rolling his eyes. "Maybe it's just Hawk again?" Logan tried again.

This time Carlos shot him down. "I doubt it. This doesn't seem like his style, does it? I mean, last time he just locked us in that dressing room/truck thing and had his weirdo assistant tie us up. This time… I don't know, it just seems different." James and Logan nodded in agreement. There was another pause as they tried to come up with reasons.

"Ransom?"

"Possible…"

"Revenge?"

"Maybe…"

"Rabid squirrels in need of human sacrifices?"

James and Logan stared at Carlos as a bit of the happy, carefree part of him shined through. "What?" Logan asked, raising an eyebrow. James laughed, but this time it was genuine. Carlos blushed and looked away. "Never mind," he muttered.

Secretly he was happy, though. They had all been so down, so hopeless. James was being cynical and bitter. Logan was trying, but there was only so much he could do. Kendall… Carlos was afraid to think of what would happen when he woke up. He didn't want a repeat of the day before.

But now, for at least a little while, their spirits had been lifted by Carlos' strange suggestion. They all knew it probably wouldn't last long, but at least it was something. They needed something to keep them somewhat sane in the hell hole they were in, and if it was stupid moments that involved rabid squirrels then so be it.

The momentary relief, however, was interrupted by a groan from Kendall, who was just beginning to shift around. Another moan escaped him, and then he fell into complete silence, but the damage had already been done. The others followed suit, and for what felt like the millionth time, a terrible quietness filled the room.

Logan looked around, trying to find anything that would hint as to what was going on. There were no cameras to suggest that they were being watched. The door remained closed, and no one had come in or out, at least not while they had been awake. Why hadn't they made a move yet? What were these people trying to do, drive them crazy? Because if they were, they were doing a great job.

Nothing made any sense anymore. Logan didn't know if it was because he was in a cage or because he was scared or what, but his mind refused to work the way it was supposed to. Things that would have come to him instantly were taking longer, like a delayed reaction. He hated it, not being able to figure things out. It was a foreign feeling, and frankly it was driving him up the wall.

Being a leader was turning out to be even harder than he'd originally thought. He had no clue how Kendall had done it for so many years without breaking down, because the pressure that Logan was feeling was smothering.

It was horrible, having that much responsibility. He'd noticed the way that James and Carlos were looking at him expectantly, waiting for him to tell them that everything would be fine and that he had an ingenious plan to get them all out. How was he supposed to tell them that he had no idea what was going to happen?

At least Kendall had had some experience leading others; Logan had no idea how to do it. He'd never been one to lead, because although others relied on him for good advice and wisdom, he couldn't handle the pressure of having to make decisions for others. That's why he always followed others, or at the very least worked alongside them as equals. It was so much easier when he had a choice to listen to others tell him what they thought he should do, and then deciding what he wanted to do. But this time he didn't have that choice.

James and Carlos were depending on him, and he was determined not to let them down. If he was able to do anything, he decided that it had to be that. It wasn't Kendall's fault that he was breaking down, but if he wasn't going to lead and help the others get out then Logan would. There was no room for discussion; if Logan kept fighting it then he would waste precious time that could be used to plan an escape.

That was easier said than done. His mind still couldn't process the fact that they had been kidnapped in the first place, let alone formulate a plan to get them all out alive. That was something he had to make sure he did; get them all out alive. Any plan that allowed their survival was fine in Logan's book, but he wanted to come up with the safest plan possible. That could take awhile.

Logan shifted around, trying to find a position that was somewhat comfortable. After a few moments he gave up, deciding that his efforts were in vain. He sighed and settled against the cold metal bars, closing his eyes. A hiss escaped through clenched teeth as his arm bumped against the cage, hitting the bandaged area. He frowned as he heard a tiny, almost inaudible beep as his arm made contact with the metal.

Logan allowed his fingers the ghost over the bandage, tenderly touching the part. Something just wasn't right about it. The wheels in his head started turning as his mind tried to come up with a logical explanation.

He'd felt something small and hard just below his skin when he'd first taken off the bandage. He didn't know what, but something was definitely there. Then he'd just hit it against the cage and it had made a small beeping noise.

Kendall had a bandage around his arm as well, so that meant that whatever was in Logan was probably also in him. Looking up, Logan noticed that James and Carlos' arms were wrapped as well. So that meant that something had been done to each of them.

Something clicked, but Logan couldn't quite put his finger on it. There had to be something else… Logan went through everything in his memory, desperate to solve the puzzle.

They were all in cages, and in a building God knew where. That much was obvious. Then there had been that strange man who was convinced that something bad would happen to him if he didn't leave immediately, but Logan had seen the hopelessness in his eyes hours before, and he knew that the man had never completely believed that he would get out. Then he had obviously been caught and-

_No,_ Logan told himself. He couldn't let himself keep thinking about what could have happened, because there was nothing he could do about it. He needed to keep all his attention focused on what he did know. Logan searched through his brain, trying to think of anything else that might have been important, and then suddenly all of the pieces fell into place.

_No. _The thought was so mind blowing, so horrifying that he almost didn't want to believe it. But he couldn't think of any other logical explanation. _Please god, no. _The idea was terrible, and he prayed to God that he was wrong. But somehow he knew he wasn't. _Oh crap. _He'd figured it out. He wished with all his heart that he hadn't, but he had. He'd figured it out.

Someone had implanted tracking devices.

* * *

**Hoo... Yeah, I went there. Some of you probably weren't surprised, but hopefully some of you were. Oh, and I know what you're all thinking: Rabid squirrels, really? I had my reasons for doing that, and it was just so... Carlos that I had to put it in. But, whether this is sad or not, that's probably all you'll see from the rabid squirrels from a while. How... nice. So, reviews?**


	7. Breaking Down

**Yesterday was so Big Time Rushtacular. Seriously, between their amazing new album and their performance on the Today Show and Big Time Girlfriends I thought I was going to die. So much Big Time Rush! Such a good day. A good Monday, no less;) Yeah, the whole Logan/Camille/James thing fell a little bit short of my expectations, but the episode had so many fantastic moments that if I were to list all my favorite ones this author's note would go on forever. But just know that James and the little tree? For whatever reason I found that completely HILARIOUS! I loved it:) That means I should have written a happy chapter, right? Wrong. I actually wrote this before I saw it, so anyway... This should have been up yesterday, but I got sidetracked with a oneshot that I just _had _to do. But here it is now:) I hope it's to your liking:)**

**Disclaimer: I own Big Time Rush. JUST KIDDING! No, I seriously don't own them. -is sad- I repeat: I don't own Big Time Rush**

* * *

Logan stared through the cage bars, his eyes wide and unblinking. He'd hardly gotten any sleep; every time he closed his eyes he was plagued with nightmares. They were always the same: Logan would finally get out of the cages, and he would getting away. Then the tracking device would beep and someone would jump out and grab him. Sometimes the person went farther than just dragging him away and he ended up… He didn't want to think about it.

He'd finally fallen asleep long enough for someone to come in, giving them just enough to open the cages and give the boys more food. Logan hadn't seen another living soul beside his friends, and it was extremely unnerving. Why were these people so against being seen? It just didn't make any sense.

All of the boys could slowly feel themselves going insane. It was unbearable, being trapped in those small cages. Add in the fact that they all had absolutely no idea what was going on and you've got a madhouse. And that was exactly what it was turning into.

The boys were trying to cling to their sanity. They talked to each other, learning that silence only drove them closer to the edge. First they'd talked about normal things; hockey, the people back at the Palm Woods, their friends and family. But they'd run out of ideas pretty quickly, and pretty soon they found themselves talking about completely irrelevant things, like the economy and, upon Carlos' request, dinosaurs. It didn't help too much, but it did something, which was more than they could ask for. The only person whom it didn't help was Kendall, who had gone into a sort of shell and spent the hours talking to himself instead of the others.

Still, they could only make it so easy for themselves. The cages were still small and confining; none of the boys could completely stand without hitting their heads on the top of their imprisonments. To add insult to injury, the cages were spaced apart so that the boys could almost touch each others' hands through the bar, but not quite. The fact taunted them, laughing at them as they tried to come into contact with each other. All in all, they were losing it, and they all knew it; that alone made it nearly unendurable.

But other than that, nothing was happening. No one had come in to torture them, taunt them, tell them what was going on. Logan knew that he should be grateful that no one had come in to hurt them, but not knowing what was going on was almost worse. Knowledge was supposed to make life harder and more painful; the knowledge of not knowing was the worst.

Logan glanced up as a sudden movement out of the corner of his eye caught his attention. He looked at Kendall warily as the blonde slowly stood up, crouching down as though he was getting into a fighting stance. "What are you doing?" Logan asked quietly, keeping his voice low so as to avoid waking up James and Carlos. Kendall didn't answer, only stared at the front of his cage. Then, without any warning whatsoever, he lunged forward, throwing himself against the bars.

Logan jumped as Kendall came in contact with the metal and fell back. "What are you doing!" he yelled, forgetting all about being quiet. He heard James wake with a start, and Carlos shift around as he slowly came to, but Logan's attention was focused completely on Kendall. The boy stumbled to his feet and threw himself forward again, and again, and again, screaming as he did so. "KENDALL!"

Kendall was oblivious to his friends' cries. He had to get out; he couldn't take it anymore. He wasn't strong, and now everyone knew it, but he didn't care. He had to get out. He slammed his body against the door of the cage, screaming and crying as he tried desperately to get out. But it wasn't working; it didn't even budge. Kendall's frustration only grew, and he fell against it harder, ignoring the sharp pain that he was putting his arm and shoulder through. He was going to have some major bruises later, but that didn't matter; he had to get out.

Logan stared helplessly as Kendall screamed. He needed to stop him, before he seriously hurt himself, but there was nothing he could do. He gripped the bars of his own cage so hard that his knuckles turned white and yelled at his friend. "Kendall, stop! Kendall, listen to me, you have to stop! Kendall, please!" But if Kendall could hear him he didn't show it.

James and Carlos snapped out of the initial shock and joined Logan, begging Kendall to stop. "Kendall, please stop it," Carlos pleaded, his eyes filling with tears as he watched their broken, former leader continue to throw himself forward. "Kendall…" James said, but he broke off when his voice threatened to break. He couldn't let Kendall hear him cry, not now. So James just sat back and watched, struggling to control his emotions as everything spiraled out of control.

And then just as suddenly as it had started, it was over. Kendall stepped back, panting. Then he stumbled backwards, collapsing against the back of the cage. He stared straight forward, his hands fisting in his hair. His whole body began to tremble uncontrollably, and soon he was being wracked by loud, heart wrenching sobs. Carlos, James, and Logan sat back, using every ounce of their control not to break down as well. But none of them could stop the tears that were flowing from their eyes, nor could they keep their hearts from shattering into a million pieces.

Logan pulled his knees to his chest, trying to make himself as small as possible. He closed his eyes, trying to block out the sound of Kendall's crying. His sanity was slipping away, and he was finding that he couldn't hold onto it. He closed his eyes even tighter, as though that would make the terrible ache in his chest go away. But it didn't.

He did, however, feel everything dimming. Kendall's sobs began to fade, and although he didn't relax in the slightest he felt a strange sense of peace. Everything was going farther and farther away, and soon it seemed as though it was all happening from a distance. Logan's exhaustion finally took over, and somehow he found himself in the land of dreams.

_Logan looked around the cage, sighing in frustration. His friends were long gone, having left as soon as they had the chance. They had promised that they would send help for him as soon as they could, but no one had come to rescue him yet. He was beginning to think they never would, that he would be stuck in this God forsaken cage forever. But he had to have faith in them, so he clung to the hope and trust that he'd used to give them every day. They would come back for him. They would…_

_Suddenly there was a click, and then something amazing happened: the cage door swung open._

_Logan stared at it in amazement, almost unwilling to believe it. Was this some cruel joke? But no one was jumping out and yelling "Ha! Just kidding!" So he took a hesitant step forward and gently lowered himself out of the cage. His legs almost gave out from relief. But that could have just been from having grown unaccustomed to supporting his weight._

_He took one step forward, and then another, and soon he found himself running. The door to the room opened a few moments before he reached and he sprinted out, not bothering to look back. He didn't want to know what he would see there, and he really didn't care anyway. All that mattered was that he was finally free, free at last. Now he could get out and join his friends, and everything could go back to normal._

_Logan took a hesitant step forward, trying to decide which way he should go. He was surrounded by buildings of various sizes, and they seemed to form a maze. A feeling of panic washed over him. What if he chose the wrong way? What if he got stuck there forever? He couldn't take the place for another second, let alone forever. He needed to get out, and he needed to do it now._

_Picking the direction that seemed most likely to lead him out, Logan began moving again. He ran through back alleys, empty streets, sharp corners. None of it mattered, though, as long as he got out._

_Logan rushed between the buildings, his eyes scanning the area desperately for any sign of an exit. His pace never slowed, so if he accidently ran past it then he'd never know it. But he wouldn't miss it; there was no way that after all he'd gone through he would miss it._

_His movements were clumsy, his body not used to moving so much. He had no idea how long he'd been in that cage, but it must have been a long time. All the more reason to get out. _

_And then he saw it. He didn't know how he knew, but something in his heart told him that he needed to go that way. He turned sharply, heading towards the opening between two buildings. Somehow he was certain of what it was: the exit._

_Logan ran, pushing himself to go faster. He closed the distance quickly, and by the time he got to the end he was nearly shaking. This was it. He was finally going to get out of this hell hole, was finally going to get back to his normal life. Everything was going to be-_

_A tiny beeping noise came from his arm, and his attention snapped down to it. His heart plummeted, and he took a quick step forward. But it was too late. _

_Someone grabbed him from behind, pulling him away from any chance of escape. A gasp escaped his lips, and he instantly began struggling, but it was too late; already he was being dragged away, being taken further and further from that last bit of hope._

_All at once Logan felt himself collapse in on himself. He let himself go limp and be dragged away, all the fight gone from him. Because suddenly he understood; there was no escaping. No matter how many times he got out, he'd never be able to get away. He was stuck there for the rest of his life, and there was nothing he could do about it…_

Logan jerked awake, gasping for breath. He looked around wildly, desperate to see that he wasn't alone. James and Carlos were looking at him in concern. Both appeared as though they had been crying. Their eyes were red and puffy, and their faces were stained with the tears they had shed. Logan's breathing slowly calmed down, and he sighed in relief. It had just been a nightmare; his friends were still there with him, he wasn't alone.

Logan sighed again as he leaned against the bars of his cage, this time to release all of his frustration. He wished that something, _anything, _would happen. Nothing that would cause the boys harm, but something that would break the terrible suspense. If they couldn't get out then they should at least have their nerves calmed.

Logan clenched his teeth. He needed to get a handle on his emotions, and he needed to do it _now. _James and Carlos still looked worried about him, and he didn't need to add to their stress. _Calm down, Logan,_ he ordered himself. It almost worked, too. For a brief couple of seconds his felt himself relax ever so slightly. But he should have known it was too good to be true.

There was a noise, or rather _four _noises. Four small clicks that Logan wouldn't have heard if he hadn't been listening. But he had been listening, and apparently so had James, Carlos, and Kendall, because they all looked up. The room was completely still as they waited for something to happen, and happen it did.

As the boys held their breath, looking around warily, all four cage doors opened.

* * *

**Ahahaha... Please don't kill me. Seriously, please don't. I need to be alive to write the next chapter:) This is actually the 7th and 8th chapters. Chapter 8 was just going to be all of the nightmares the boys had, but chapter 7 wasn't getting to be long enough, so I cut a little stuff out and combined them. And even though I already talked about this, I need to reiterate how freaking amazing Big Time Girlfriends was. That's my new favorite episode, and I really hope that they make a music video out of 'Boyfriend'. Yeah... So, reviews?**


	8. Free at last?

**This chapter creeped me out. Seriously, as I was writing it I was shivering, especially at the very end. It's so creepy. And on a random side note, did you know that there are other "Falling To Fly"s out there? Yeah, none of them are on fanfiction, but there's a folk music group, some Dean Potter thing, and a few others. But none of them are me:) Strange, right? That's all I have to say.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Big Time Rush**

* * *

The cage doors swung open noisily, creaking eerily as they opened a window of escape. None of the boys moved, or even breathed. They could only stare in wonder as the bars that had been separating them were suddenly gone, pushed out of the way by some unknown force. Kendall reached a hand out, waving it through the empty air with a dazed expression on his face. Then a wide smile split across his face and he jumped out, bouncing up and down. "We're free!" he screamed.

Tears streamed down his face as Logan, James, and Carlos slowly made their way out of their cages. "We're free, we can go home now!" Kendall was practically hysterical as he jumped around, his eyes wide and filled with tears. He ran to the door, resting his hand on the handle as he looked at them impatiently. "What are you guys waiting for? Let's go!"

Logan moved his feet slowly, still in shock. Was that it? Were they just being let go? The sound of the man's screams filled his head, and he instantly knew that it wouldn't be that easy. Judging by the way James was looking at him he wasn't the only one who thought that. Even Carlos, who still knew nothing about what the man from earlier, looked nervous. The only one who seemed completely happy and carefree was Kendall, who was tugging the door open. "Let's go!" he repeated.

Logan reached out and grabbed his arm, stopping him before he could run away. "Wait, Kendall. We need to be careful. We have no idea what's out there or what these guys have planned. Just make sure that we all stay together, okay?" Kendall was looking out the door longingly, only half paying attention. "Okay?" Logan asked a little more forcefully. Kendall nodded automatically and Logan sighed, releasing him. He was going to have to watch Kendall very carefully.

As soon as Logan released his arm Kendall was through the door. He walked slowly enough that his friends could keep up, but he was eager to get away. He didn't pay much attention to the new surroundings, but the others did. They had just emerged from a small, wooden building, and now they were facing a huge, dense forest. There was about half an acre of plain, well kept grass between them. Logan glanced around and realized that they were in a clearing; trees surrounded the whole area.

Next to the building that they had been kept in for so long was a huge house. And by huge, they meant _huge. _Gustavo's mansion had nothing on it. The building rose to at least three stories, and stretched across the grassy area. There was a dainty wooden porch, and on that porch... stood a man.

"Hello, boys!" a deep voice boomed. All four of them froze, staring at the newcomer. "Welcome to the island of Venator!" Logan frowned as the hunter said that. The name sounded familiar, but he couldn't quite place where he'd heard it before. His thoughts were interrupted as the man continued to speak.

"I'll be your, er, _host, _for lack of better terms. I go by the name of Damian Harkshire, not that that's important. Your time here has been pleasant, I'm sure?" Despite himself, James laughed. This guy sounded like some tour guide or something, but they could all be sure that he wasn't. No way, no how. "I'm sure you're wondering what you're doing here. Well, I might be able to be of some assistance. You see, you've been… _invited_ to a hunt. You'll have to forgive me if my methods are a bit unorthodox." This time Logan laughed.

Damian sure had interesting word choice. _Host. Pleasant. Invited. Unorthodox. _This guy was crazy. Yet at the same time he seemed so… normal. He was dressed in jeans and an old t-shirt, something that you would expect to see any random guy off the street wearing. Everything about him was average. His clothing, his haircut, everything. The only thing that gave away his inner madman was the gleam in his eyes. He looked excited, but there was something strange about it. He took a step back, his eyes never leaving the boys. "Well," he said, clapping his hands together. "I wish you the best of luck, boys." And with that he spun on his heel and went back into the house, closing the door gently behind him.

The boys stood frozen, staring at the door. "What was that?" Carlos asked slowly. Logan wished he knew. Nothing made any more sense than it had before. _"You've been invited to a hunt."_ What kind of psycho kidnapped people to hunt with them? And what was more was that this guy looked like he was rich. Not only did he have a huge mansion, but he'd also said that they were on an island. Logan was an expert at geography, and he was fairly certain that there were no islands names Venator, unless they were private islands. And if he had a private island than he must have been somewhat wealthy. So why would someone with a ton of money kidnap them?

"We should probably-" Before Logan could say "get out of here" Kendall had taken off running. "KENDALL!" they all yelled, taking off in pursuit. Kendall ran straight for the woods. "Kendall, stop!"

All of the boys were fast, especially James and Logan. Back in Minnesota the school's athletic program greatly encouraged athletes to participate in more than one sport. Since all of the boys were already in hockey James, Carlos, and Kendall had all decided to play football, because they were used to the rough contacts. Logan, however, decided that it would be smarter and safer to do track instead. James had joined him, doing the 100-meter-dash, while Logan had done cross country. This was why James was the first to catch up to Kendall, followed closely by Logan, and finally, Carlos.

James grabbed the blond by the arm, yanking him to a halt. "Kendall!" he shouted, spinning him around. Kendall's eyes were wild and shining with unshed tears. "Guys, we have to get out of here! If we don't leave soon then that guy will do God knows what! We have to get out, now!" His words reminded Logan of what that man who had been in the cages with them had said, and he just barely suppressed a shudder. Whatever had happened to that man wouldn't happen to Kendall, or any of the others for that matter. Logan would make sure of it.

Kendall was still trying to pull away, but James only tightened his hold. "Kendall, calm down," Logan murmured, trying to keep his voice low and soothing. Kendall relaxed slightly, but the fear never left his eyes. "We're going to get out of this, okay? I promise." The words tasted bitter, almost like a lie. But they wouldn't be a lie; he would get them all out of there alive.

"But," he continued, "We need to be extremely careful and stay together. Okay? You saw that guy. I'm not entirely sure what he has planned, but I _am _sure that whatever is won't be good for us. You can't just go running off, okay? We have to stick together, and keep our cool. Can you do that?" It was like talking to a five year old, but Logan didn't know what else to do. Kendall nodded and James released his hold, watching the blond warily.

"Okay," Logan said. He looked around the woods, trying to decide which direction they should take. "We should go…" He paused, frowning. All of the boys were silent as they tried to decide which way to go. "Wait," Carlos said suddenly. Everyone looked at him. He cocked his head to the side, listening. "Do you hear that? It sounds like… the ocean."

The boys looked at each other. If they were really on an island then the only way off would be by boat or helicopter. Since none of the boys knew how to fly a helicopter they were going to pray that there was boat somewhere. And where better to store a boat than near the beach?

* * *

The hunter watched the boys sprint for the woods, chuckling to himself. He was feeling particularly merciful, and he decided that he would give them about a two hour head start. Not that it would make a difference. They were playing his game now, and he never lost. They didn't stand a chance.

Damian Harkshire stood up, making his way towards his private study. He would prepare himself for what was to come as though it would last for days, even though he highly doubted it would last more than a few hours. As he reached the stairs he smiled to himself.

It had begun.

* * *

The boys stumbled through the brush, making their way closer and closer towards the sound of crashing waves. The trees become thicker and thicker, to the point where the boys were being poked and scratched by branches, and then suddenly the trees were gone, replaced by empty space. The boys gazed at the beautiful scene before them.

It was beach, just as they'd expected, but the land was breath taking. Crystal clear blue water, pure white sand, even a stereotypical palm tree. It had to be one of the best beaches in the entire world, and it had to be on that island. Under normal circumstances the boys would have thought it was just a normal vacation. But these weren't normal circumstances; not by a long shot. Still, the area was beautiful.

Off to the side was a huge cliff that rose high up, hundreds of feet into the air. And at the base of the cliff was a small cave. A cave, as in a place where you might keep a boat, or that the boys could at the very least take shelter. Logan pointed at it wordlessly and they all ran for it.

James reached it first and entered, looking around the dark exterior. The boys were a few feet away when they heard him scream and stumble back out. His face was ash white, and his eyes were wide with horror. He opened his mouth, then closed it, then opened it again, but no words came out. "James?" Logan asked gently. James only shook his head and closed his eyes.

Logan took a reluctant step towards the cave, looking in cautiously. At first all he saw in the darkness was rocks and sand. But something a little farther back caught his eyes, and he couldn't help it when he took another step in. As he got closer he began to make out the object. It was white, and then blue and red, and then more white. Logan froze where he was as he realized what it was: a human skeleton.

The animals that were on the island must have gotten to it, because there was no flesh, only bone. It almost appeared to be smiling, which Logan found extremely unsettling, but he was sure that he hadn't been smiling when he died. A torn shirt and pair of jeans adorned the bones, covered in a dried, crimson substance: blood.

Logan felt his stomach churn and began to turn away, but once again his attention was captured by something on the cave floor. A stray ray of sunlight had hit it, glinting off the dull metal. Logan leaned down to pick the object up; it was a Swiss Army knife. Judging by how dull the blade was it was old and well worn, but maybe the boys could use it for something. He pocketed it and made his way towards the mouth of the cave, where his friends were waiting with wide eyes.

Logan met James' eyes and something passed in between them: Fear. Something had killed that man. Something had gotten to the man that had escaped that first day. Something on that island was out to kill them.

Logan suddenly found himself thinking back to the name of the island, and his breath caught as he remembered why it sounded so familiar. Doctors were required to know some Latin, and Logan had started trying to learn it in the ninth grade. Venator was a Latin word. As he thought about what it meant Logan hoped, prayed, that he was wrong, but he knew he wasn't. The skeleton, the man's scream. _"You've been invited to a hunt." _Suddenly things were coming into focus, and Logan was faced with the horrifying truth. Venator meant hunter in Latin.

They were being hunted.

* * *

**So who's seen the show 'Supernatural'? First of all, you should watch it. It's the best show in the entire world. Second of all, the episode 'The Benders' is where this idea came from. Well, it came from Year 3000, but she got it partially from that episode. There are some differences, of course, but there are also some similarities. Duh. But seriously, that episode is so creepy, and this is so creepy. Just thought you should know. And now you guys know why this story is called 'Venator.' Yeah, it wasn't just some random name. -dies- Although part of me almost wishes it was. So, reviews?**


	9. Sticks and stones

**Man, it took me so long to write this chapter that it's not even funny. I kept getting distacted -dies- So I just now finished it. Sorry:( Oh, and just wanted to let you know: I don't like making Kendall crazy. I'm only doing it to make Logan the leader, but still. I need to tone it down. And also, I need more Logan action in this. It's all been for Kendall, and I need to fix that, because this was supposed to be about him! So I'll start working on that while you guys read. Okay? Okay.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Big Time Rush**

* * *

Logan could only stare straight ahead. The complete and utter _horror _had frozen his whole body, making it feel as though he couldn't move, couldn't breathe. They were being _hunted._ That was something that happened to animals, like deer and birds. They weren't deer, or birds, or any other type of animals. They were _humans_, for crying out loud. Humans being hunted, and by one of their own.

His legs moved sluggishly, refusing to carry him the few feet to his friends. They all took notice to this and his pale face, and instantly a cloud of worry settled over them all. "Logan?" Carlos asked hesitantly. Logan turned to face him slowly, his heart sinking even lower as he realized that he needed to tell them. They needed to know, even though it might be the thing that finally sent James and Carlos over the edge to be with Kendall. They needed to know.

"Guys…" His mouth wouldn't form the words. Carlos and James looked at him expectantly, and Kendall was giving him a strange look that was beginning to make him uncomfortable. "He's a hunter," Logan whispered. The others just stared at him, not seeming to grasp what he was trying to say. "Okay, so he's a hunter. So?" This time it was James who spoke, watching Logan carefully. "Guys, he's a hunter… and I think… we're the game."

There was complete and utter silence between the boys. In the background waves could be heard crashing along the shore, but they were oblivious to it all. Kendall stumbled back, and probably would have fallen if James' hand hadn't shot out and caught him. Carlos had begun to tremble, and within seconds his knees had given out, sending him to his knees in the soft sand. James looked like he would pass out at any given moment, but somehow he remained upright, helping Kendall stand. "What?" he choked out.

But there was no need to repeat it. Logan, the brain of the group, had figured it out, and there was no questioning it. None of them could move. Logan found himself thinking about the man's screams, so full of terror and pain. And now Logan knew, or at least had a tiny idea of, what happened to him. And he realized another thing: the human skeleton that had been in the cave was a different person. Logan wasn't sure exactly how long they had been in those cages, but it wasn't enough time to turn a dead body into a complete skeleton. This madman who called himself a hunter had done this before, probably for a long time, which meant that he was probably experienced. Logan was really beginning to wonder if they had any chance at all.

Logan was brought out of his thoughts as he heard quiet sobs coming from Carlos. He knelt down, placing his hand on the boy's shoulder. He couldn't ignore the way he flinched away from him, nor could he look past the pure, blatant fear in his young eyes. But he pressed on, because backing off wouldn't help Carlos, or any of the others.

"Hey… Carlos, look at me. We'll get out of this, okay? I know… things look bad." Logan couldn't help but cringe at his word choice. Of course things were bad; there was no need to keep telling everyone that. "But we have each other, and that's all that matters, okay? As long as we stick together we'll be okay. Carlos?" The Latino stared at him with dazed, scared eyes. "Okay," he whispered, his voice barely audible against the roar of the ocean.

"Okay," Logan repeated. Everything was not okay. There was no way on earth that it could be okay, not now, not when everything was slowly falling apart. But he couldn't let himself ponder that, or let it get to him too much. That was incredibly unlikely to happen, but he would try. If nothing else, Logan would try.

WWKD? What would Kendall do? That is, what would the normal, not freaking out Kendall do? WWTNNFOKD? Somehow it didn't have the same ring to it, but if Logan was going to whatever it took to get his friends out safe and sound. So WWTNNFOKD?

_Find something to protect yourself. _It was as though Kendall, the real Kendall, was speaking to him, but Logan knew it was only his common sense. So, protection. The pocket knife he had found in the cave was burning a hole in his pocket, but he knew that they would need more than that if they were going to stand a chance. Logan glanced around, looking for something that the boys could use. The only things that had any potential whatsoever where some long sticks and a few sharp, hard looking rocks. Other than that the area was all sand and leaves. Sticks and stones it was, then.

As Logan slowly made his way over to the woods he nearly laughed out loud at the irony. _Sticks and stones my break my bones, but words will never hurt me. _That was only half true. Sticks and stones did break bones; words could always hurt you. But that wasn't why Logan was laughing. No, he was laughing because they were going up against a skilled, crazed hunter, who had _guns, _with sticks and stones. And while sticks and stones could break bones, it was highly unlikely that that would happen for them.

He pushed the thoughts out of his head, chastising himself for being such a pessimist. "Start looking for things that we can use to defend ourselves," Logan mumbled. Wordlessly the boys began to move around, spreading out enough so that they could cover enough ground but staying close enough together that they could watch each other's backs. James made sure that he stood close to Kendall, ready to hold him back at a moments notice if the blonde decided to run off again. None of the boys spoke as they picked up the lame things that they would have to depend on for survival. There was nothing to say.

* * *

The hunter held his gun lazily, watching his watch with growing anticipation. _Five… Four… Three… Two… One._ It was time, or rather, their time was up. Two hours had come and gone, and now it was time to start. Now it had officially begun.

* * *

Logan scanned the ground, looking for anything that would be of use to them. None of the branches that remained in the area looked sturdy enough to do any good, and Logan found himself drifting deeper into the woods. Twigs and smaller branches snapped under his feet and slapped at his face, but he barely noticed as his eyes scanned the ground. His feet slowly moved into territory that he hadn't searched in during the three hours the boys had looked for means of protection. Up ahead he heard a strange trickling sound, one that he'd heard often back in Minnesota; it was a river.

Logan pushed through a few more trees and found himself standing on the edge of a wide, slightly muddy looking river. Its murky water, dark in the deeper areas, was the polar opposite of the beach, which had been so clear and pure. But it didn't have that salty odor that came with the beach, so did that mean it was fresh water?

He didn't get a chance to test it out, because a short distance away he heard three panicked gasps. He had to use every ounce of self control to not call out, to see what was wrong. Something told him that he shouldn't. Slowly, and ever so quietly, Logan leaned down and picked up the biggest rock he could carry, slowly making his way back towards his friends.

* * *

James stared at the man before him, struggling to keep his shaking arms up and in front of his friends. It had all happened so fast. One minute the three had been moving around slowly, picking up sticks and rocks, only to discard them seconds later, and then suddenly he had been there. Suddenly a gun had been cocked, and they had all turned around to see _him, _the man who Logan said was hunting them. And Logan was nowhere to be seen.

James had been frozen in place for what felt like an eternity. How had they been caught so quickly? It had only been a few short, albeit chaotic hours since they had been freed from the cages. How had the hunter found them? He heard Kendall's panicked breathing, quickly turning into whimpers, and Carlos' silence, letting him know that he was holding his breath. James had snapped out of his shock enough to step forward in front of them, holding his arms out in a weak attempt to protect them. His body was shaking uncontrollably, and as questions flew through his head one stood out more than the others.

Where was Logan?

* * *

Logan stared in horror at the scene before as Damian began to chuckle. His laugh grew louder as James, Carlos, and Kendall began to shake even harder, staring at him with wide, terror-filled eyes. "Where's your friend?" the hunter asked. None of the boys answered. "Well, that doesn't matter anyway. I'll find him soon enough."

Carlos spoke up hesitantly. "H-how did you find us so fast?" he asked, shrinking away as the hunter turned his attention to him. Damian stared at him for a few seconds before grinning. "This island has been in my family for generations. I know every inch of the land. Every rock, every tree, every grain of sand. I know it all. And please, did you really think that you could get away from me? I didn't even have to use the tracking devices; I never do."

Logan inched his way forward, careful not to step on any twigs. The boys didn't seem to notice him, which was probably for the best. Better not to tip off the hunter to his whereabouts. "Why are you doing this?" James whispered. This time Damian didn't hesitate. "I've been a hunter all my life, but all the common game has been an insult. I'm the best of the best, and so I need to hunt to best, most challenging game there is. Oddly enough that just so happens to be humans." Logan felt sick as he answered, and judging by the way the others paled even more, they were thinking the same thing.

"But… But you're a human, too," James mumbled. The hunter shook his head and laughed. "But I'm superior over all humans. Everyone else is beneath me, which gives me the right to hunt them. You're the equivalent of all other animals to me," the hunter explained. James' eyes widened. That was possibly the worst justification he'd ever heard, but clearly it was enough for the hunter.

Logan was almost to the hunter, mere feet away. As the hunter raised his gun lazily, pointing it right at James' chest, Logan swung the rock he had as hard as he could, praying on everything that it would be enough. _Crack._

The sound of stone colliding with bone echoed throughout the area. All four of the boys held their breath as the hunter stiffened and fell to the ground, unmoving. A small amount of blood oozed from behind his ear, but his chest was still moving. "Let's go," Logan said, and without another word they all took off running.

The boys ran for what felt like hours, but they never slowed. All they could think about was getting as far away as possible. They ran, and ran, and ran. Logan had no problem, what with all his cross country training, but after a while the others began to tire. Logan slowed his pace, finally pulling to a stop at the base of a big tree in a small, flat area.

The daylight was slowly fading, signaling that night was almost there. Logan looked around the area, trying to make up his mind. "Let's stay here for the night," he murmured.

Within a few minutes they had a fire going, thanks to Carlos' past Boy Scout experiences, and they were all sitting around it. Logan's stomach growled, but food would have to wait until morning. There was no way that any of them were going away from that fire. "We should keep watch, just in case," Logan suggested. The others nodded silently and Logan stood up. "I'll take first shift."

* * *

**That was quick. Everything happened so much faster than I'd originally intended, but I kind of liked it. Of course James was the back up leader. Would you expect anything else from me? And the hunter... He freaks me out. And I'm _writing _him. That might not be very good... So what did you think? Your reviews for the last chapter were amazing! Want to try that again;) But seriously, please review!**


	10. Perimeter

**Hey! I'm back. I shouldn't sound so excited about that, especially with what I'm about to do -dies- So anyway... Who's excited for the new BTR episode? I know I am, because not only is is Halloween themed, but they're also singing 'Big Night', which is one of my favorite Big Time Rush songs:) So excited:) Oh, and just to let you all know, I am SO behind on everything fanfiction. Reading, reviews, adding stuff to my community... So if I'm missing something that you think I shouldn't be, just let me know and I'll try to get on that as soon as possible. And I don't normally do this, but I would like to dedicate this chapter to _ashleyjordan_, who not only has been incredibly loyal and supportive throughtout all of my fics, but who is also planning a fic that I am really really really really really really really extremely excited for! (James kidnapping) So go read her stuff so that you can anticipate it. Now. So now we should get onto the chapter...**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Big Time Rush**

* * *

Damien opened his eyes slowly, trying to block out the pounding in his head. His eyes opened ever so slightly, but all he saw was darkness. He opened them wider, but still everything was dark. "What the-" It was night already. Glancing up at the sky he could just barely make out a sliver of the moon. There were few stars, making the deep, dark blue of the night sky even more infinite.

They had gotten away from him. Those stupid, good for nothing kids had gotten away from him. His hand ghosted over the back of his head, where all of his pain was coming from, and it came away wet and sticky. Those kids had made him bleed. He hadn't gotten injured on a hunt in six years, and now that record was broken by four teenage boys, one in particular.

Slowly the hunter stood up, forcing himself to stay steady as his legs threatened to collapse. Those boys had done this to him. He bent over and picked up his gun where it had been discarded when he'd fallen and fired a shot aimlessly. _Click. _Nothing happened.

His gun was jammed. Those kids had jammed his gun, his best hunting rifle. He felt his anger growing, but he refused to let it take over. He would need a clear head when he took them down, because he _would _take them down. No matter what.

He set off in the direction of his home. Christopher would be waiting there for him. He would fix Damien's wounds and ready a new gun, and then the hunter would be off again. Those boys would be dead by morning.

* * *

The night proved to be uneventful, much to everyone's immense relief. After a few hours of sitting in front of the fire, Logan had woken Carlos, and Carlos had woken James a few hours later. James had almost gotten Kendall at the end of his shift, but he'd thought better of it; Kendall seemed like he was doing better, but none of the boys completely trusted him to not go running off yet. So James had taken a double shift, allowing his friends to sleep as he stared into the fire.

Now it was morning, and they were getting ready to set off. During his shift, Logan had taken the dull pocket knife and sharpened the ends of a few good branches he'd found. They had left all of the things that they had gathered when they'd ran the night before, so he'd had to make do with what he could find. Logan had made sure not to stray more than three feet from the small campfire, and he'd managed to find four long, sturdy branches. It wasn't much, but it was better than nothing.

Logan stood up and stretched, stiff from sleeping on the hard, uncomfortable forest floor. His stomach growled, complaining of the lack of food. That would have to be one of the first things they did. They needed to keep up their strength, and sleep was only half the battle.

"We should find some food," he said, watching as the others stood up as well. They all nodded. "Weren't there some palm trees on the beach?" Carlos asked. The others thought about it and slowly nodded. "Yeah, there are probably some coconuts…" Logan said. "Then let's go there."

Easier said than done. None of them wanted to go back there, not after they had almost been caught there. And after finding that skeleton… "We should see what else it out there," Logan said. That was true; they needed to find out what else was on that island, especially anything that they could use.

The boys set out, trying to remember the way back to the beach. They walked for a good hour, and still found nothing. "Are you sure we're going the right way?" Carlos asked for the twentieth time. Logan sighed and rolled his eyes. "Yes, I'm almost positive. I know I remember passing that-" Logan broke off as something off to the side caught his eye. It wasn't the beach; it was just a plant. But it wasn't just any plant; it was a pineapple plant.

The boys stared at it in wonder. "Is that really…?" Kendall reached out and grabbed the plant, jerking his hand back as the pointy ends of the fruit poked his skin. Logan's stomach growled as he stared at the fruit. He looked over at James as he stepped forward, shirt in his hands. He wrapped the fabric around the fruit, pulling it from its roots. Immediately he handed it to Logan, who already had his knife out. Within seconds the pineapple had been cut and distributed. The boys sat in silent as they ate, filling their stomachs with the sweet, sticky fruit.

As soon as Logan's portion was gone his brain went into overdrive. Pineapple was only indigenous to certain areas. Namely… South America. Were they somewhere in South American? That was _miles _away from Los Angeles. Could that really be where they were?

"Let's get going," Logan mumbled as soon as the others had finished. "Should we take some of these with us?" James asked. There was a slight pause as Logan thought about it. "No…" he said slowly. "That'll just slow us down. There's probably more on other parts of the island, and if not then we can always come back." The others nodded as if this made all the sense in the world, even though in truth they knew next to nothing about island geography. "Let's get going," Logan repeated.

The boys began walking again, trying to ignore the discomfort the island weather was bringing. The air was hot and humid, not that much different from Los Angeles, but while much of the water in the air was burned off there, the trees of the forest blocked out the sun, making the air heavy and hard to breathe. The boys pressed on though, and soon enough they emerged from the forest and onto the beach.

They were in a different area than they had been the day before, but at least they were on the beach. "So… What do we do now?" Kendall spoke for the first time all day. Logan glanced at him and shrugged. "We walk," he said simply.

So that's what they did. They began walking around the island, sticking close to the trees. The scenery was beautiful: crystal clear blue water, pure white sand, a tropical forest. It was the perfect island setting, but Logan only saw it as a trap, something to get their guard down until… Until they needed their guard up the most.

The boys walked for what must have been hours, but the view hardly ever seemed to change. Logan was willing to bet that they had walked a good five miles, and still they hadn't found anything that could help them. There was no boat, or any other means of getting off the island. Logan couldn't help but wonder if there was any way off the island.

Of course there was. They had gotten onto it somehow, and that meant that they could get off. But how? The sun was well overhead by the time they reached a familiar setting: the cliff. This time they were on top of it, looking down at the area they had been at the previous day. Looking out, the boys could see much of the island. Most of it was just flora and fauna, and they could all just barely make out the hunter's mansion and the clearing it was nestled in. The island was huge, probably at least six or seven kilometers. That just begged the question: how had the hunter found them so quickly?

He claimed that he hadn't used the trackers that he'd implanted in the boys, and for some reason Logan was inclined to believe him. Damien was one of those guys who liked to prove that he was the best, and that he didn't need any help from anything or anyone. So how had he found them so fast? Was he really that good of a hunter?

Logan was brought out of his thoughts by Carlos. "Now what?" The normally energetic boy sounded lifeless, hopeless even. Logan suppressed a shudder as he thought of what the island had done to them all in the short time they had been there. He frowned, considering the question carefully. What now?

Something in his memory surfaced, and suddenly he knew where they should go. "The river." The others looked at him in confusion, checking to see that they'd heard him right. "The river?" James repeated, furrowing his eyebrows. "What river?" Logan blinked. He'd completely forgotten to tell them about it. There had been other, more pressing things on his mind, namely, surviving. "I found a river last night."

The others raised their eyebrows at this new piece of information, but they didn't say anything about it. "So the river it is," James said. They stood there for a few minutes, watching Logan expectantly. "Well?" Carlos finally said. "Lead the way." Logan blinked again and nodded. "Right," he muttered, setting off for the woods.

The area that they were in was different from where they'd been the night before. The ground was much higher up, and the river wasn't quite as close to the edge of the forest as it had been in the other area. But Logan managed to find it quickly enough, and soon the boys found themselves standing on the edge of the rushing body of water.

Just like what Logan had seen the day before, the water was a slightly murky, brown color. The river wasn't incredibly wide, maybe ten or fifteen feet across, but the current was quick, sweeping away all of the leaves that fluttered down into it. "I think we should follow the river," Logan explained. "Maybe there's something along the path, and at the very least we'll have a constant water supply, because I'm pretty sure this isn't salt water. And maybe we can-"

Logan paused as Kendall and Carlos' eyes suddenly widened. "What-" He turned around and found him staring into a dark hole: a gun.

The hunter smiled, his eyes angry and anticipating. "So nice to see you again," he said, his words full of amusement. The boys took a step back, and James nearly fell into the river. They were trapped.

Damien laughed at their horrified looks. "Did you really think that you had any hope? It's my game, boys; I never lose." Logan's eyes darted back and forth, looking for some way to escape. But there was only way direction they could go: back.

"JUMP!" Logan screamed, and without a second thought he threw himself backwards into the river. He heard three other splashes near him, and then he was being swept away by the current.

He pushed himself above the surface, taking a deep breath before the current tugged him back under. Something zinged by, and he heard a loud bang from above the surface. A gunshot; the hunter was still shooting at them, determined to kill him and the others.

But it was too late for Damien to do anything; already Logan was getting farther and farther away, the river pulling him with an unbeatable force. The water swirled around Logan, blinding him, choking him. He struggled to the surface, desperate already for air, but the pull was too strong. All he could do was let himself be taken downstream.

Logan kicked desperately in the direction he thought was land. Suddenly his foot hit something somewhat solid, and he felt sand kick up around his feet. The water became shallower, and finally he was able to pull himself up, gasping and spluttering as he stumbled towards land.

Logan managed to get completely out of the river before stumbling to his knees, coughing up water. His head spun for a brief few seconds, but it passed as soon as he'd gotten enough oxygen to his lungs. Logan glanced up, looking for his friends, and caught sight of James dragging himself out of the river.

Instantly Logan was back on his feet, stumbling to where his taller friend was lying on the ground, chest heaving. As he got closer, he noticed that James was clutching his leg, scrunching his eyes clothes. Logan saw something messy and red running from under his fingers, and his heart skipped a beat: blood. James was hurt, James was _bleeding._

"James!" Logan cried, dropping to his knees beside his friend. James opened his eyes slowly, looking into Logan's eyes. "Hurts," he muttered through gritted teeth. Logan tried to see what was wrong, but James' hand was covering the whole wound. "James," he asked slowly, his heart sinking. "Did he… did he shoot you?" He watched James carefully, fear gripping his heart in a cold vise.

The relief that he felt when James shook his head was overwhelming. "Thank God," Logan breathed. James grimaced as a wave of pain shot through his leg. Logan's voice sounded a bit hazy as he spoke again. "What happened, James? Can you move your hand for me?"

Slowly James removed his hand, and Logan felt as though he was going to be sick. There was a long, deep gash in his leg, bleeding profusely. "Oh crap…" Logan muttered. The doctor side of him took over, and he instantly stripped off his shirt, wrapping it firmly around the injury. James hissed in pain, but he didn't say anything as Logan tended to his leg. Logan finally tied the ends of the shirt together, forming a makeshift bandage. It didn't do much, and he was pretty sure that it wouldn't last for long, but at the moment it was all Logan could do. "Keep pressure on it," Logan ordered. James nodded curtly and Logan glanced back at the river.

His heart rate picked up as he realized that something was missing. The area was too quiet; the only sound was the rushing river and his and James' breathing. "Logan?" James asked hesitantly. Logan looked at him and knew that they were both thinking the same thing.

Kendall and Carlos were nowhere to be found.

* * *

**I can't believe I did that. I _seperated _them. Why do I always make things ten times worse? -dies- Sometimes I really hate this story, because it's so terrible for the boys. But what did you guys think? Oh, and I've decided that I REALLY need to write something happy, because everything I've done lately is sad and angsty and it needs to stop, or at least pause for a little while. So I'm going to try with all my might to write a happy one shot, and if there's something you want to see (within reason) I might be able to use it. So, reviews?**


	11. The melody of separation

**So I left you with that horrible ending last chapter, and I'm sorry -hides- But... I don't have anything to say, except thank you so much for the amazing reviews! Now onto the chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Big Time Rush**

* * *

The darkness swirled around Carlos, trying to pull the boy back under as he slowly returned to consciousness. "Uuuuuuuugh…" A miserable groan escaped his lips as he struggled to open his eyes. His whole body felt cold and weighed down, his clothes sticking to his body. He heard a shuffling sound from nearby, getting closer and closer, and when he finally found the strength to open his eyes he found himself face to face with… Kendall.

"Whoa!" Carlos sat up suddenly, hitting his head against Kendall's in his haste. Both boys fell backward, holding their foreheads. "Man, Kendall! Are you trying to give me a heart attack or something?" The blonde said nothing. Carlos looked over at him, his heart beginning to hurt as he stared at his friend.

Kendall's hair was plastered to his forehead, and his clothes were soaking wet. Looking down, Carlos realized that he himself was in the exact same situation. It must have been from the river…

Carlos' head snapped up as he remembered what had happened, his eyes searching desperately for the other two people who should be with them. "Where are Logan and James?" he asked, trying to keep the panic from his voice. Maybe they had just gone off in search of food or something. Yeah, that was probably it. There was no need to worry. But the way Kendall refused to look at him told him otherwise. "Kendall?"

Finally the former leader looked up. He didn't say anything, only shrugged in response to Carlos' question. "You mean they're not here?" Carlos wasn't sure he really wanted to answer. Kendall slowly nodded, and Carlos had to bite his lip to keep from screaming.

Logan and James were gone. Maybe not dead, but they were somewhere else on the island, all alone. Just like Carlos and Kendall. Carlos had no way of knowing if they were hurt, or if they'd gotten away, or… worse. But he knew that Logan and James would be fine. Logan would know exactly what to do, and if he didn't James could slip into his role as second in command. Carlos and Kendall, however… Kendall was in no shape to do anything, and Carlos had never been one for responsibility. What were they going to do?

Carlos glanced over at Kendall, who was sitting in silence against a tree. He seemed like he was doing better than before, but Carlos was still worried. Kendall had already broken down once, and there was still the possibility of it happening again. Carlos needed to keep him safe, just like Logan had done. He would just have to be like Logan.

Carlos gazed out at the trees, shivering in his wet clothes. _It'll be okay, it'll be okay, it'll be okay…_ He repeated that over and over in his head, as though by saying it a bunch of times it would become true. He hoped that they would be okay, and he hoped that James and Logan, wherever they were, were okay. He hope that everything would be okay.

* * *

Logan glanced over at James, who was sitting dejectedly with his leg straight out in front of him. The bleeding had somewhat stopped, but not before the makeshift bandage had turned brilliant red. Logan knew that they needed to get moving, but there was nothing he could do without assessing the damage done to his friend. "We need to re-bandage that," he mumbled, nodding towards James' leg. James only nodded, closing his eyes tiredly.

The t-shirt was slowly unwound, and again Logan felt as though he were going to be sick. The gash had stopped bleeding, but it looked terrible. It was red and angry, and Logan was sure that it was causing James extreme discomfort. But there was another pressing concern: infection.

"We need to clean this," Logan muttered, taking the cleanest part of the shirt he could find and walking over to the river. He dipped it in, allowing the water to soak into it, and went back over to James. "This might hurt a little," he warned. James nodded stiffly, trying to steel himself for the pain.

Logan gently brought the wet fabric down, wiping the dried blood away from the cut. James tensed as Logan got closer to the wound and gritted his teeth, but he never made a sound. Logan tried to be quick, not wanting to prolong the suffering, and within minutes the cut had been somewhat cleaned. Logan looked around, trying to find something to replace the crude bandage. He heard James shift and there was a tearing sound. The taller boy held up a strip of denim that he had torn off his jeans, from the injured leg. "Here," he murmured.

Logan took the strip and began to wrap it around James' leg, trying to ignore the way the other winced. Finally the cut was completely covered, and Logan allowed himself to sit back and relax. At least that was taken care of. "So how did you get that?" he asked, exhaustion seeping into his words.

James shrugged, opening his eyes lazily. "Hit a rock or something in the river," he said quietly, unconsciously looking out at the water. Logan simply nodded, his mind elsewhere. The hunter had found them yet again, and this time he had managed to injure and separate them. How long would it take for him to find them again? Logan was willing to bet that it wouldn't be long, which meant that they really needed to get moving.

"Can you… Do you think you can walk?" he asked hesitantly. He was hoping against hope that James wouldn't say no, because if he did Logan didn't know what they would do. James frowned, shifting his leg slightly. "I think so…" He tried to push himself off the ground, but his arms weren't quite strong enough. He looked at Logan in embarrassment, silently asking for help. Logan positioned his arms around James' shoulders and back and gently helped him to his feet. James placed one hand against the tree, trying to ease a bit of weight onto his injured leg.

"Try to take it slow," Logan commanded gently, watching James warily as he slowly let his hand slide off the tree. "That's it…" he murmured as James hesitantly put one foot down. James' injured foot came down and he gasped, stumbling forward. Logan grabbed him by the shoulders to prevent him from falling. "Maybe this isn't such a good idea."

James shook his head stubbornly, his eyes full of determination. "No, I can do this. I just need to be careful about how much weight I put on this leg," he explained, glaring down at the wound as though by staring at it the pain would magically disappear. It didn't, but he decided to try again. Once again he put his non-injured foot down, and then slowly lowered the other one, letting it make brief contact with the ground before shifting back to the other foot. He repeated this a few more times, and it almost looked as though he was galloping, but it was better than nothing.

"It's a miracle!" James cried, adopting an over exaggerated Tennessee accent. Logan chuckled, happy to see that James at least had some sense of humor, and his eyes lit up as an idea came to him. "Here!" He knelt down and picked up a branch that was lying on the ground, handing it so James. The taller boy stared at it in confusion for a few seconds before he realized what it was. "I feel like an old man or something," he muttered as he gripped the makeshift cane in his hand.

Logan shrugged. _Better an old man than a dead man, _he thought grimly, but he pushed the thoughts out of his head. He couldn't let himself get down, not now. James needed him, and he was pretty sure that so did Carlos and Kendall, wherever they were.

Carlos and Kendall. How were they going to manage? Kendall's mental stability was still very much in question, and now that two of his three friends had been separated from him, who knew what would happen? He could have another panic attack, or do something rash like he had when he'd thrown himself against the cage door. He needed someone to keep him steady and grounded, and while Logan loved Carlos like the brother that he was, he wasn't sure that the Latino was up to the task.

Carlos. He wasn't the youngest member of the group, but for some reason they all saw him as the baby. Maybe it had something to do with his childlike curiosity, or the way he was so happy all the time, but he was the one that the others looked to for adventure and laughter, not advice and leadership. That just wasn't Carlos. He brought life to everything he did, but he wasn't exactly the most responsible being in the world. If it hadn't been for his helmet and his friends he probably would practically live in the hospital. With his friends it was more like time share. How would he handle not only keeping himself alive, but also the most mentally unstable of the group? Logan was afraid to think about it.

"We should get moving, see if we can find Kendall and Carlos," Logan said. Finding the missing BTR members was their second priority; staying alive was their first. James nodded quietly, taking another step forward and wincing. They set out, staying in the shadows of the trees that lined the river.

As they walked, Logan began searching the ground for more branches. They had once again lost all means of protection getting away from the hunter, and he was pretty sure that they would need _something_ if they were to survive. And they would survive. They had to.

Finally Logan found a stick that looked like it was sturdy enough that it wouldn't break immediately, but light enough that he wouldn't exhaust himself carrying it. He pulled out the Swiss Army knife and began sharpening the edge, soon losing himself in the rhythm of it. As the end became more pointed his thoughts went farther and farther away.

His mind was still having trouble processing everything that had happened. In the past few days they had been kidnapped, driven crazy, hunted, and now, separated. He wouldn't have believed it was possible for a person to go through so much turmoil in such a short amount of time, but the world seemed to just _love _proving that he didn't know as much as he thought.

Logan was praying on everything he had that they would all get off the island alive. Despite what he had continually told his friends, he still had his doubts about how things would end. How, after everything they were being put through, could there be a happy ending? It wasn't a fairytale that parents read to their kids at night; if that were the case then the kids would get nightmares. No, it was just life. And Logan knew all too well that life didn't always have happy endings.

When he was in sixth grade, Logan's father had joined the army. He'd been deployed to Afghanistan within the first month, and Logan hardly ever saw him after that. The day that he and his mother had gotten the call that his father had died for his country would forever be burned in his mind, and he would never be able to look at life with the same innocent, optimistic outlook as he had before. But he still wanted to believe that everything would be okay, at least this time. God would watch over him just as he had during that terrible time.

"Hey, look at that weird tree," James said, snapping Logan out of his thoughts. Logan followed the direction that James was pointing in and nearly laughed. It was a strange tree indeed. Its branches were spread oddly, giving it an almost stair step like appearance. It rose about twenty feet into the air, and judging by the thickness of the branches, it would be fairly easy to climb. And that's exactly what Logan was going to do.

"Wait here," he ordered softly, placing one hand across the trunk and placing a tentative foot on the first branch. It dipped slightly, but it looked as though it would hold his weight. Logan took another step, and then another, growing more and more careful as he climbed higher and higher. Once he'd reached as high as he could go, which was only about thirty feet, he realized that the tree he was in was probably one of the highest in the forest, because even though he was only about three quarters of the way up he was already a good foot or two over the tops of all the other trees. Logan looked out, searching through the forest for any sign of his missing friends. A slight movement out of the corner of his eye caught his attention, and he froze, unable to move.

It was the hunter. He was about 500 yards away, gliding between trees and over patches of grass and leaves. Even from a distance Logan could see the determined gleam in his eye. That told him two things.

The hunter was still after James and Logan. And he was fast approaching.

* * *

**Ahaha, haha, ha... Yeah. The hunter is STILL after them. Duh. He wouldn't just give up. But he's going after James and Logan, not Kendall and Carlos. Huh. And the tree thing? I've actually seen a picture of a tree like that. Was it photoshopped? Who knows. But don't think I made up some totally impossible tree, because... I didn't. Oh, and the next chapter will hopefully be up in two days (because as you've seen I update every two days) but I haven't gotten anything done on it, so it might not be up until Saturday. Sorry -is dead- So, reviews?**


	12. Worries

**This chapter is the shortest one yet, and I hate it. But I almost didn't get this up, and I got myself WAY behind on all my reviewing because Thursday seems so be 'update day' for everyone. I love that, don't get me wrong, but it's funny that is should be Thursday, because that's one of my busiest days. How sad. But I got this done, and I hope you like it!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Big Time Rush**

* * *

If Logan had gone down the tree any faster he probably would have fallen to his death. But as he flew down the branches towards James, who was watching him in confusion from the ground, he only had one thing on his mind: getting the heck out of there. He jumped the last five feet to the forest floor, landing softly beside James. As soon as he hit the ground he was pulling James' arm, wrapping it around his shoulders in order to support the taller boy. "We need to move. _Now._" He offered no further explanation, hoping that James would sense the urgency in his movements. Fortunately he did, and immediately the two set off at the quickest pace they could manage.

They were going too slow; James' limp got worse as they moved faster, which not only made it hard to cover any distance but only increased the pain in James' leg, which certainly wouldn't help with the healing process. But they needed to get out of there, and fast, because if they didn't the hunter would get to them. And then all would be lost.

* * *

Carlos moved slowly through the forest, listening to the rhythmic footsteps of Kendall, who was trudging next to him. They had been walking for about two hours, and as the minutes had worn on, so had Carlos' patience. He'd been losing it since day one on that damned island, but now was worse. Now all he had was Kendall, who had lapsed into a terrible silence and was almost like having no company at all. He needed Logan and James.

Logan and James. He wondered how they were doing, wherever they were. It occurred to him that he had never once really considered the possibility that they had been caught, or killed. Somehow he just knew that they hadn't. The boys all had a strong connection. They had always known when something bad was happening to another, whether it was bullying or failing a test or just a bad day in general. Carlos like to call it their "spider sense," because they always seemed to realize when something bad was going to happen to another right before it happened. And Carlos hadn't felt that strange tingling feeling since he'd first woken up in the cage.

Maybe it was just broken. His friends had certainly been through some terrible times in the past few days; Kendall had gone completely over the edge; James had found a skeleton in a cave; and Logan… Well, Logan probably had the most to deal with of all. He had had to step up and take all of the responsibility of his friends onto his own shoulders, so that whenever one of them hurt, he hurt even more. And never once had his spidey sense tingled.

Maybe it really was just broken. Maybe there was something about the island that stopped it from working. Or maybe… the thought sickened him, but he saw that it could easily be the truth. Maybe his spider sense had been going off ever since they had arrived, and he'd just gotten used to it. He hoped to God that that wasn't it.

His prayers were answered, although he wished that they hadn't been. All of a sudden he felt his stomach clench painfully, and butterflies began to fly around in it. His spidey sense was going off. And he had no idea what was going to happen.

* * *

"What do you mean you haven't found them!" Gustavo screamed into the phone. There was a pause on the other end, and then the cold, hard voice of the officer he was speaking to came back on. "Sir, please remain calm. I understand that you must be worried, but-" Gustavo opened his mouth to say something, but Kelly quickly snatched the phone from his hand. But her words where no calmer than her boss' had been. "Listen to me, right now. You've got a video of the boys being taken away in a van, you've got the plates, and you're supposed to be a police force! Now do your job and find those boys, before we come down there and do it for you!" Without another word Kelly angrily ended the call, leaving the policeman to ponder her words. Because she had been completely serious with what she had said: they would find those boys.

Gustavo sat in silence, his face beat red and his breathing coming out in angry, harsh puffs. If those bumbling morons down at the station had any idea what they were doing then the dogs would have been found already. The police weren't fond of him, nor was he of them, but this wasn't a matter of who liked who; it was about getting the boys back safe and sound. Griffin already had his team of private investigators searching as well, and although they were no closer to finding the boys than the police were, at least they were trying, something that Gustavo was grateful for. All they needed to do now was find the boys.

* * *

James panted as he ran alongside Logan, trying to use his makeshift cane to propel himself farther forward. His leg felt like it was on fire, or at the very least getting ready to burst into flames. But he never slowed down; his pace wasn't enough as it was, and they were just barely making it. He couldn't slow down; slowing down meant certain death.

The scenery was a blur, shades of green and brown flying past and disappearing into the distance as the boys ran. They didn't know how close the hunter was, but he'd probably heard them by now; they really needed to step it up and do something if they had any hope of getting out of there alive.

Logan was barely managing to keep himself from breaking out into a full out sprint, keeping his pace slow enough to match James'. He couldn't leave his friend behind to the hunter's mercy, not after all they had been through together. But what they were doing wasn't enough, and sooner or later they would tire and begin to slow down, or the hunter would finally catch up, or something. They needed a change in plan, and they needed it now.

"James, this isn't working!" Logan whispered, trying to keep the panic from his voice. "He's getting closer, and we can't move any faster! We have to hide!" James looked around wildly. "Where?" It was a solid question. There was nowhere to go. They were surrounded by trees on all sides. That meant that they weren't given much of a choice. Logan held his hands out, cupping them together. "Put your good foot on my hands and I'll lift you up into a tree."

James stared at his friend in disbelief. "You? Logan, you can't lift my weight, you're not-" Logan cut him off, desperation coloring his words. "Just do it!" The whole conversation had consisted of whispering, but Logan wanted nothing more than to scream. They were wasting time, time that they didn't have.

James gave him one last frown before slowly lifting his leg, wincing as his injured one was suddenly carrying all his weight. He put his foot into Logan's hands and grabbed the first branch he could reach, trying to hoist himself up. Logan moved his arms, trying to push James up into the tree. James had been right; Logan could hardly lift his weight. But the adrenaline that was being driven by his pure, uncensored fear gave him the energy he needed, and after a few more minutes of struggling James was safely in the tree. Logan jumped up and grabbed a branch, using what little strength he had left to pull himself nimbly up.

They weren't very high up, perhaps six feet or so. That wouldn't be enough. "Higher." Now that they were actually in the tree, it was much easier to go further up. James went first, using his arms to carefully move up onto a branch that was a bit higher and off to the side. Logan thought he heard him whisper, "Like stair steps," but he couldn't be sure. As soon as James was a few feet higher Logan began to move.

The boys got about ten feet from the ground, James slightly higher than Logan. And it was just in time. The second the boys stopped moving there was a slight, barely audible rustling sound, and moments later the hunter appeared. Both boys held their breath, sending out silent prayers that he would move on, wouldn't notice them. The hunter moved slowly below them, looking around cautiously. Logan was finally beginning to think that he was going to move on, especially when he neared the tree they were in and showed no sign of stopping. The hunter paused as he reached the base of the tree, looking from side to side. He chuckled to himself, and Logan felt his heart to turn to ice. And then the unthinkable happened.

The hunter looked up.

* * *

**I've said it before, and I'll say it again: I'm pretty much incapable of ending a chapter without the use of a cliffhanger -is dead- But at least I got this up today, because I really thought that I wouldn't be able to. That might explain it's terrible shortness -is dead again- And now you have a tiny bit of insight on what's happening off the island. I'm not going to focus too much on them, but I thought you guys should know what was happening to everyone who ISN'T being hunted. And guess what? I need to stop with all the angst and action and drama. Okay, not stop, but do something that is void of it. So I'm going to do a huge explosion of Christmas fics, and even though it won't be until December, I'm going to start working on it soon. It'll be a series of one shots, surrounding each individual character on the show, and I'd like to get it up to 25 chapters so that I can do a sort of countdown to Christmas thing. I'm really excited for it:) So, thoughts? REVIEWS?**


	13. Raging pain

**For some reason I had a really hard time writing this. Yeah, it took me forever, and I couldn't figure out why. Then I realized that this was unlucky chapter 13. Yeah... But once I realized that the chapter just kind of came out, and it went by really fast. Weird. That's all I have to say for now.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own BTR**

* * *

Logan couldn't move. His brain was screaming at him, telling him to run, jump, do _something_, but his muscles wouldn't respond. All he could do was stare down at the hunter, who was now flat out laughing. The man somehow found amusement in Logan's horror, and Logan was surprised that he didn't fall over, because that was how hard he was laughing. But he didn't fall over; instead he raised his gun, which Logan noticed for the first time was different than the one he'd been using originally. But that was trivial information; the only thing that mattered was that the hunter was pointing a gun at him, and there was nowhere left for him to run or hide.

The hunter's grin widened as his finger curled around the trigger. He was so close. Once he killed Logan, the brains of the boys' operation, the others would fall beneath him. The other boy, James, would be easily disposed of; he was crippled, and there would be no one to protect him. And the other two would be easy to deal with once he found them, and it was only a matter of time before that happened. If he made good time the hunt would be over by morning.

Logan's eyes were completely focused on the barrel of the gun. It was probably the last thing he would ever see. He heard James' breathing pick up above him, but he couldn't bring himself to look up. He didn't want the last thing he saw on Earth to be James' look of horror and fear. The hunter's finger tightened dramatically around the trigger, getting ready to pull it. It was almost over. Logan was spending his last few seconds alive in a tree, fearing for his life.

The next few seconds were a blur, but Logan saw every little detail clearly. He saw the hunter's eyes widen slightly, and his smile disappear as his gaze shifted to something behind Logan. He moved to pull the trigger, suddenly desperate. Something whistled past Logan's ear, and Damian let out a strangled cry as something was launched into his shoulder. The gun dropped from his hand as he stumbled back, biting back screams of pain. His vision was strange, blurry and slightly grey, and the pain… it was raw, burning agony.

Logan looked up dazedly, and he saw James looking down at him with a pale, deadly serious face. James had thrown his makeshift cane/spear. Logan hadn't even remembered his own weapon; the pure and utter terror had made his mind go blank. "GO!" the taller boy screamed. It felt as though someone else was controlling his movements, because Logan suddenly found himself on the ground, his feet landing softly on the forest floor. James followed behind, landing awkwardly as he tried to keep all of his weight off of his uninjured leg. "GO!" he yelled again, shoving Logan forward.

The hunter was still on the ground, writhing in agony. Blood was already beginning to soak through his shirt, but Logan didn't seem to notice; he was already flying through the trees, going as fast as he could without leaving James behind. They had bought themselves a little bit of time; it wasn't much, and Damian would be back with a vengeance, but it was better than nothing. At least now they had a slight chance.

Logan and James sprinted as fast as they could go. James' leg felt as though it was on fire, but somehow he was full out sprinting. It must have been the panic, or perhaps it was his ever growing insanity. Either way, all that was on both boys' mind was one thing: getting out of there.

* * *

Carlos stood there as the terrible feeling in the pit of his stomach slowly died away. His spider sense had shut off once again, and he still had no idea if James and Logan were okay. He had a feeling that he couldn't shake, a feeling that was telling him that wherever they were, Logan and James were fine. Carlos and Kendall, however, were not.

They were hungry; they hadn't had anything to eat since they had been separated from the others, because Logan was the only one that had a knife to cut food. Besides, they hadn't come across anything that they could eat anyway. Carlos didn't know anything about island geography, but from all the movies he'd seen it seemed like there should be a bunch of trees and bushes with fruits and berries for them to eat, or some mysterious shaman who always had a supply of food. This wasn't the case, however.

They were exhausted, especially Carlos; he was running on empty, and he was using energy he couldn't afford to lose on making sure that Kendall didn't run off. The blonde had lapsed into silence again, saying nothing as they made their way across the island. Carlos had no idea what was going on inside his head, but he knew it couldn't be good. But Kendall wasn't saying anything to him, and even if he did, there was little Carlos could do.

They were scared; in fact, scared didn't begin to cover it. They were filled with terror, fear, and so many other things, but words didn't begin to describe any of it. It was one of those situations that you had to go through to truly understand how it felt, although Carlos seriously hoped that no one had ever been in this situation before. He knew that couldn't be true, because Damian had clearly done it to others before them, but they were… dead. There was no getting around it. The other people who had come to the island had surely been killed. The hunter didn't seem like the kind of person who would leave any unattended business before starting something new. Thinking about all this made Carlos sick to his stomach, but that was reality for you. Maybe that's why people were always saying reality sucked.

They needed James and Logan. That was one of the things that were constantly running through Carlos' head. They needed James and Logan, because they would know what to do. Because Carlos and Kendall didn't know what to do, or if they did, they weren't doing it very well. They needed to be reunited with their friends, and soon, because Carlos wasn't sure how much longer they would last if they didn't.

* * *

The hunter gritted his teeth as Christopher worked at stitching up his wound. The makeshift spear had gone in pretty deep, and when he had finally stumbled back into the mansion he had been ready to pass out from blood loss. Even now his head was spinning, and his shoulder was in unbelievable pain, but he used this to sharpen his senses. He didn't use pain killers because they dulled his mind. And he needed to be sharp and completely aware when he was hunting.

He had seriously underestimated those boys. When he'd first had them brought to the island he had been hoping for a bit of a challenge. That was why he had taken all four of them, instead of just one. He'd wanted it to be a little difficult; that was what made it fun. But _this._ It was beginning to get out of hand. He had never expected them to get away so many times, but they had.

And not only had they gotten away, but they had also injured him in the process. Those stupid, good for nothing _kids _had hurt him, and what was more, they had hurt his _shooting _arm. They were sixteen, inexperienced, and yet somehow they were still almost beating him at his own game.

Christopher was silent as he patched up his wounded master's arm. To say that he had been surprised that his boss had been injured by his prey yet again would be an understatement; in all of the years that he had worked under Damian, Christopher had only had to help the hunter a handful of times. Now, within the span of a few a days, he had had to help him twice. But in his many years, Christopher had also become very good at hiding his thoughts and feelings, which is what he was doing now. He still had faith that his master would prevail in the end; he always did. Why should this time be any different?

Damian allowed himself to relax ever so slightly as Christopher wrapped a bandage around his arm, covering the stitches. His shoulder was aching fiercely, but he only used the discomfort to fuel his growing anger. He stood up as soon as Christopher backed away, grabbing his gun and heading for the door again.

As soon as he stepped outside he took a deep breath, inhaling the fresh island air. He could use his anger later, but for now he needed to remain calm; anger would drive him, but it would also give him tunnel vision. He needed to be careful and precise if he was to be victorious. And he would be victorious; that was something that he assured himself would happen, no matter the cost.

As he made his way back towards the woods, the hunter was comforted by one thought: the boys' death would be more painful than they could have ever imagined.

* * *

James didn't know it was possible to be in so much pain. Once, in an intense hockey game back in Minnesota, he had been checked from behind. The other player had been penalized, but not before he had been slammed hard into the wall of the rink, breaking his arm and receiving a pretty bad concussion. But that was nothing compared to what he was feeling right now. Back then he had just been able to lay there, and other people had lifted him and carried him to the hospital; now he was having to _run_ with his injured leg, and there was no thoughts of getting to help.

His leg was in agony. If he'd been able to spare enough attention to look down, James was almost positive that he would see his thigh in flames; that's how badly it was hurting. But he couldn't stop. The hunter had almost caught up to them, _again_, and he really didn't want to let that happen a fourth time.

It was extremely unnerving to think about how many times Damian had caught up to them. It seemed like no matter how many times they got away, or how many times they thought they were safe, he always managed to find them again. And every time he found them, one of them almost died. He was seriously beginning to wonder if they would ever be free of him.

Logan listened as James panted next to him, his heart tightening as he heard the labored breathing. James wasn't doing well, and Logan knew they were going to need to stop soon. But he wanted to put as much distance between them and the hunter. There was no telling how much time Damian would take before coming after them again, but knowing how crazy and determined he was, Logan doubted it would be long. Still, he hated hearing how much pain and discomfort his friend was in.

In the trees ahead he noticed a large, gray mass; it was part of the cliff. Logan didn't know how they'd gotten back to it, and frankly he didn't care. Wordlessly he pointed at it, and as one he and James changed direction, heading for rocks.

_For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. _Somehow Logan found himself thinking about Newton's Third Law of Motion as he stared at the opening in the cave that had suddenly appeared in his line of vision. They had been given no solace or shelter from the hunter; that was the action. Now they had a cave, where they at the very least had walls and a dry, clear floor; that was the reaction. It was by no means equal, and not necessarily opposite, but it was a huge leap forward. And that was all Logan could ask for.

As they reached the mouth of the cave, James slowed and came to a stop, letting Logan get a bit ahead of him. Logan stopped a foot away from the opening, giving his friend a questioning look. But he already knew why James was suddenly looking nervous and afraid; the last cave he had run into had had a human skeleton in it. If that wasn't enough to keep a person away from caves for the rest of their life, Logan wasn't sure what was. But somehow he found himself walking forward hesitantly, into the darkness of the cave.

It was much smaller than the cave that they had seen at the beach; it only went about ten feet back, and it was about seven feet wide. From where he was standing, Logan could everything in the rock formation; and, to his immense relief, there was no skeleton, only rocks. He motioned James forward, giving him an assuring look. The two stepped into the cave, and James immediately sat down, letting out a sigh of relief as the burning weight on his leg suddenly disappeared.

Within a few minutes they had a small fire going, and just in time; the sky outside was beginning to darken, turning the sky purple and orange. The twilight was beautiful, but Logan could have cared less. He would have traded the scenery for a dull, gray one in an instant if it meant getting off the island.

"We'll just stay here for the night," he murmured, sinking down to sit next to James. The other boy's face was pale and sweaty, and there were deep, dark circles under his eyes. The trouble his leg had caused him that day must have exhausted him more than he'd let on. Even now he looked as though he were struggling to keep his eyes open. "I'll take first watch," Logan said quietly. For a split second James looked like he was about to argue, but then his exhaustion got the better of him, and the next moment he was sound asleep.

Logan tried to get comfortable, but he soon gave up on the idea. The cave was dry, and there were no twigs or leaves on the ground, but the rock was hard and rough. Finally Logan decided to just sit Indian style, and he found himself looking out of the entrance of the cave, staring into the infinite darkness that was surrounding them outside.

* * *

**James is a hero. No seriously, if this chapter wan't enough to make you love him... Then I have nothing to say to you. Because he's amazing and he saved Logan and he kept going even though his leg was about to fall off (no, not literally) and if you can't see his awesomeness after all that then... what I said before. So what did you think? This chapter was longer than the last one, something that I was very happy about. So, reviews?**


	14. Moments

**I really don't know what to say, except thank you for all the amazing reviews! Actually I do know what to say. Have any of you heard of the fic 'Per Sempre' by fall into your sunlight? Because it is seriously amazing. I think you should all read it. Like, _now. _Okay, that's all:)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Big Time Rush. I only own Damian and Christopher, and that's just sad.**

* * *

Damian walked slowly through the woods, treading carefully so that none of the fallen twigs were snapped. His feet padded softly along the forest floor. His gun hung lazily at his side, his hand wrapped loosely around the neck, but in a moment's notice he would be able to bring it up and shoot. There would be no hesitating; the gun would come up, and trigger would be pulled, and a shot would be fired. Those boys weren't going to get away from him again.

The surprise he felt at the boys' many escapes hadn't faded in the slightest. It made no sense; he was superior to them, there was no doubt in his mind. He had had years of experience before them, and he'd hunted far more dangerous creatures. So how was it that those stupid singers were continually getting the jump on him?

Logan. That one name stood out more than the rest. James, Kendall, and Carlos were minor threats, but Logan… He was clearly the one that was stepping up and leading the others. He was the smartest out of the four boys, the most careful and the most decisive. Damian had no doubt that Logan was the one that he needed to worry about the most. That boy was too smart for his own good. He was almost…

Damian shook off the thought. _No. _Logan was a challenge, but he wasn't on the same level as him. No one was. But if he were to be successful, Damian knew that the first one he would need to do deal with would be Logan. Now all he had to do was find him.

The island was huge. It had been in Damian's family since long before he had been born, and he had practically grown up there. His father had taught him how to hunt from a very young age, but both he and Damian's mother had become very sick and died when Damian was only nineteen. He'd been living alone ever since, rarely venturing off the island. For ten years he had only left the island for clothing and food, and of course game to hunt. After eleven years he had stumbled across Christopher, whom he had hired and taken back to the island. From that point on Christopher had been the only one to leave the island, doing any "errands" Damian gave to him without question. But Damian was the only one who truly knew the island, and even then its nine kilometer circumference made it hard to navigate on. There were so many places the boys could hide.

For the first time in his life, the hunter considered using the tracking devices he had implanted. He'd never even considered the idea before, because he'd never, _ever_ had any reason too. So he wasn't going to; why should this time be different? He was a great hunter, and he could find them on his own. He picked up his pace, making his way deeper and deeper into the forest. He would find those boys.

After all, he was the superior to them all.

* * *

Logan shifted around on the hard cave floor, letting out a small groan as his sore muscles screamed in protest. He pulled himself into a sitting position, rubbing the back of his neck. He blinked a few times, trying to wake up a little bit more. Logan looked around blearily, trying to get a bearing on his surroundings. The sun was beginning to rise just outside the cave, bathing Logan in a golden light. And there, sitting off to his left, was James. The taller boy was staring blankly into the fire.

Logan moved closer to the fire, soaking off the comforting warmth it gave in the cool, damp air of the cave. James didn't even blink, staring into the flames with an oddly vacant look in his eyes. Logan found it slightly unnerving and reached out his hand, placing it on his friend's shoulder. "James?" he asked gently, shaking his shoulder. James looked at him slowly, and Logan was surprised to see tears in his eyes. "James, what's wrong?"

James shook his head, shifting his gaze back to the fire. "James, talk to me, please," Logan pleaded desperately. "What's wrong?" he repeated. Again James looked up, and this time behind the tears Logan saw fear, pain, and so many other, terrible feelings fighting for dominance. And the worst part was, all of them seemed to be winning. James looked lost, but at the same he looked wise, and much, much older than he had just mere days ago. "Everything," he whispered.

Logan's heart dropped into his stomach as James looked away again, shaking now. _Everything. _The word echoed in his head over and over again, like a broken record. _Everything_. Everything was wrong. They couldn't even make a list of things anymore, because all of the things that were going on were so messed up. _Everything_.

Some of the last remaining pieces of hope Logan had been holding onto were suddenly crushed, smothered under the weight of what James had just said. It told him two things. One: There was very little, if anything, that they could cling to for hope and reassurance, and two: If there was something that could lift their spirits, James clearly didn't know what it was either. He had finally lost hope.

"James…" Logan opened his mouth to say something, but his lips couldn't seem to form the words. What was he supposed to say? That everything would get better, and that things would be fine and go back to normal? Things would never go back to the way they had been before. Their minds were all too scarred, and Logan was almost positive that it would take a lot of therapy to get them anywhere close to their old personalities. They were going to need trained professionals to help them, something that Logan was not. What could he possibly say to make things better?

"You're right," he murmured. James' head snapped up and he looked at Logan with wide, hurt filled eyes. "W-What?" he stammered out, looking as though he would break down any second now. He had expected Logan to fight him, to comfort him in the way that only Logan could. And now he was agreeing with him and telling him that they were basically screwed? It didn't make sense. Nothing made sense anymore.

Logan's heart sank lower at the look on James' face, but he pressed on. "You're absolutely right. I can't think of anything that's okay right now. Can you?" James looked like he was about to be sick, but he couldn't stop his head from nodding. Logan found himself nodding too, his head bobbing up and down as he stared into the fire. "But," he continued, and he smiled to himself when he saw James' eyes light up. "We've gone up against hard things before, right? And we've always managed to get through it, together. And that's what will happen this time; I know things look bad, but as long as we stick together I _know _we can get out of this."

James tried to smile, but there was still so much doubt in his eyes. "But… we're _not _all together. Kendall and Carlos are God knows where on this island, and we… Logan, we don't even know for sure if they're alive. And the hunter keeps finding us. Every time I think that we might have finally gotten away, he comes back, and each time he nearly kills us. Do you realize that, Logan? He nearly killed me, he nearly killed Carlos and Kendall, and he nearly killed you. What if he _had _killed you, Logan? What would have happened then? Because he almost did. He came _this close _to…" James bit off whatever else he was going to say, looking away as a single tear fell from his eye.

Logan was speechless. Even though he'd told himself the same things over and over again in his mind, it was still strange to hear that someone else was thinking the same thing. A part of him had been hoping that he had been the only one to truly realize just how bad things were, because it was a lot easier to motivate someone when they didn't know how bad the odds against them were. Still, he couldn't stop the words that came tumbling from his mouth.

"But James, he didn't. Do you realize _that_?" he asked, throwing James' words right back at him. "Every time he's caught up to us, every time he's nearly finished us off, something stops him. And have you noticed that half the time, the thing that's stopping him is _you_, James? You put yourself in front of Carlos and Kendall that time in the clearing. And just now you threw that spear and stopped the hunter. You stopped him from killing me, James. You saved my life."

Now it was James' turn to be speechless. He'd never once thought of it like that. It had been a spur of the moment move, one that if he'd waited a few seconds longer would have been in vain. But he hadn't been late, and he'd _saved _Logan. The knowledge of that would have brought him to his knees if he'd been standing, because it was almost too much to handle. "I…" But no more words would come out.

Logan inched closer to James and put an arm around him, pulling him into a comforting hug. James was shaking, and Logan could tell that he was just barely containing his sobs. He himself was tearing up. He needed to do something before they were both full out crying. So Logan said the only other thing that he could think of to cheer James up. "We should get going, try to find Carlos and Kendall again. Because they _are _alive, James. We would know if they weren't." James nodded as Logan stood and reached out his hand, pulling James to his feet. The two set out for the woods again, each lost in their own thoughts.

* * *

Carlos panted as he struggled up the hill. Somehow he and Kendall must have gotten turned around, because judging by how steep the ground was becoming they must have been going in the direction of the cliff. Carlos wasn't sure how that had happened, and frankly he didn't care; it wasn't like the way they had been going before had gotten them anywhere.

Carlos was beginning to worry about Kendall more than ever. The boy was still in his complete silence, and Carlos couldn't help but think about how that was how he had been the last time. Kendall could break down at any second, and if that happened, Carlos had no idea what he would do.

He wasn't some smart doctor like Logan. He panicked under pressure and stress, something that he was feeling the effects of at the moment. He wasn't like James. He didn't have an answer for whatever anyone threw at him. He seriously lacked the bravery and leadership that the two of them had, and what Kendall would have had if he had been his normal self. Put simply, Carlos just didn't know what to do.

Things weren't going well at all, and Carlos didn't see them getting any better. They needed help, and they needed it fast. As Carlos continued up the hill with Kendall at his side, he couldn't help but think that if they didn't find Logan and James soon, they wouldn't last much longer.

* * *

**So this chapter was basically just a huge bucketload of angst. Like seriously, it's not even funny how messed up these emotions are. Because Carlos is hopeless and James _was _hopeless until Logan made him all better and Kendall... I'm not sure about him yet. It could go either way. -shrugs- And someone needs to kick Damian off his high horse. Seriously. And do I see a little forshadowing, hm? -wink, wink- So what did you think? I personally... I'm not sure how I feel. This was another hard chapter to write. So, reviews?**


	15. Stuck

**Okay, I think I might be getting on fanfiction a bit too much. No seriously, I was reading an actual paperback book, and during one particularly exciting chapter I found that I was already forming a review in my mind. Wow. This is why I take breaks. Speaking of breaks, once this is done, and I'm not sure when that will be, I'm taking another break. Nothing super long, just enough to clear my mind. Oh, and for those of you who are interested, 'Atypical Wishes' will most likely become a multichapter (after my break) I haven't quite decided yet, but I'm leaning towards yes. So that's all for now. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Big Time Rush**

* * *

Carlos and Kendall had been walking aimlessly for what felt like hours. They didn't even have a clear path anymore; they were just walking wherever their feet happened to carry them. They hadn't given up, not necessarily. They were simply leaving themselves to fate, deciding that what would happen, would happen. That went against everything they had ever done, everything that they had ever told themselves that they would do. But they didn't have much of a choice anymore.

Every time Carlos would round a corner, every time he would get around a tree, he would think that they had finally found James and Logan. But they never did. Each time his hopes were crushed more and more, to the point that he was surprised that he hadn't sunk into a deep depression. Or maybe he had. Maybe that was why he was beginning to feel so helpless and utterly useless.

Kendall looked like he was off in his own world, but in reality he was completely aware of everything that was going on. He knew how badly they were struggling, especially Carlos, but his body seemed to have shut down. His mouth couldn't form any words, leaving him with a deafening silence. Part of him was glad he wasn't speaking; if he did, Carlos would probably think that he was a stark raving lunatic, and he wouldn't exactly be wrong. So for now Kendall remained silent, praying in his minds that things would start to get better, and preferably sooner rather than later. He wasn't sure that they could wait for later.

The boys were still going uphill, but the ground was beginning to level out. The sticky, humid air became easier to breath as the forest floor became flat, making it so much easier to move around. Humidity made everything surprisingly difficult; it made the air thick and heavy and hard to breathe, and it added a huge weight to their chests. Or maybe that was just the never ending fear and suspense. Yeah, that could have been it too.

Kendall and Carlos suddenly found themselves in a clearing. It was about fifteen feet wide, it was about seven or eight feet across. Before Carlos could say a word Kendall had sat down, leaning against a try quietly. Carlos sighed; they needed to get some rest anyway, and now was as good a time as any. His eyes grew heavier and heavier, and before he could stop himself, Carlos had fallen asleep.

He was woken sometime later. He looked around blearily, trying to figure out what had pulled him from his fitful slumber. He saw Kendall leaning against his tree in the same position he had been in when he had fallen asleep and judging by the unfaded, dark circles under his eyes, Carlos was willing to bet that he hadn't gotten any sleep. But Kendall was looking around, his eyes for once seeming wide and alert. And then Carlos heard it: a small rustling sound from the other side of the clearing.

As Carlos stared at the trees, his eyes widened in shock. "Oh my god…"

* * *

Damian stood in one of the many rooms in his mansion. There were dozens of rooms, each with different purposes. This one in particular was where he kept all of his hunting equipment: guns, knives, traps, anything he could possibly need on one of his hunting trips. He was looking through each and every piece of equipment now, trying to plan out his next move.

He wasn't desperate, not yet, but he was fast approaching that point. He was going to take whatever steps that was necessary, and then some. He wanted no mistakes when he finally brought his hand down. Mistakes cost time, and that was the last thing he wanted.

This hunt had already taken way too much time. A good hunt typically went on for a day, but never more. This one, however, had taken much longer, too much longer. He needed every detail to be perfect, so as to avoid wasting any more time. Another thing that bothered him was that it wasn't like they were some skilled, highly trained people who knew how to escape and survive on their own. No, they were a bunch of teenagers, and that was like a huge insult, like a slap in the face.

The hunter scanned over the various weapons, trying to decide which one would be best for the job at hand. Nothing seemed right; nothing he had been doing had worked so far, and the things before him were no different. He didn't exactly need a good weapon; that would be a necessary component, but he couldn't just grab a gun and go off this time. He needed something more, something that would give him an edge. He needed a strategy.

Damian sank into a nearby chair, putting his mind into overdrive. It shouldn't have been a hard task, what with his superior intellect, but somehow his mind was coming up blank. His plan could be simple, or complex, or whatever it needed to be, as long as it was effective. And by effective, he meant something that would take care of the boys, once and for all.

Suddenly he had it. The plan was so simple, and if he executed it correctly then his problem would be solved very soon. He couldn't believe he had never thought of it before; in reality he supposed he had, but it had been more of a side note than an actual plan. But as he went over the details in his mind, he realized that it would work. It would take a little more effort on his part, and he would have to be extremely careful at one point, but he was sure he could do it. After all, he was the best there was, and if he couldn't do it, no one could.

The hunter grabbed the only weapon he would need and set off for the woods yet again. A smile touched his lips, and he quickened his pace in anticipation. Those boys would soon meet their demise.

* * *

James and Logan made their way carefully through the trees. Every snap of a branch, every chirp of a cricket, every leaf that fell made them jump and turn around. Each time they expected the sound or movement to have been made by the hunter, because they both knew that it was only a matter of time before he came back. And when he came back, he would bring forth a vengeance. Of the few things that the boys knew at the moment, that was one of them. This is why they couldn't go more than a few steps without having to pause and listen, hearts hammering in their chests. It grew old after the first few times, but they couldn't bring themselves to let their guards down. They couldn't afford to.

James winced as he was forced to bend down to duck under a low hanging branch, igniting the pain in his leg. Now that the initial adrenaline had worn off, he found that it was getting harder and harder to ignore the sharp pain in his thigh. Blood had long ago begun to seep through the denim bandage, and James knew that it would have to be replaced pretty soon. But that wasn't his main concern.

He couldn't stop himself from thinking about something that Logan had told him once a long time ago about bad cuts. They had been camping in Carlos' backyard at the time, so the scenarios were completely different, but the information still applied. Logan had told him that in the wilderness, bad cuts needed to be treated as quickly as possible, so as to prevent infection. If the wound did become infected, they needed to go to a hospital to get it treated immediately, because infections could easily become a serious threat to one's health. Now, as he was walking and the pain in his leg was increasing, James couldn't help but think about what they would do if his leg did indeed develop an infection.

Logan had checked it a few hours ago when they had stopped to rest, and he hadn't seen anything that looked like an infection, but that didn't mean they were in the clear. Not by a long shot. James knew that he was going to need to be much more careful, because he didn't want or need to be collapsing from an infection, especially not now.

James was broken by his thoughts as his foot suddenly caught in a root, sending him stumbling and crashing to the ground. Logan jumped and turned around, eyes alert and ready for action. The taller boy cursed as he pushed himself to his feet, then once more as he accidently put too much weight on his leg, intensifying the discomfort. "That's the third time in the last hour," he complained, not even bothering to hide his frustration.

Logan sighed; it was true. James' feet had been slipping up in the past hour, stumbling over the smallest things on the ground and, on occasion, his own feet. James was never a really graceful person, but he'd always had pretty good balance. He'd never had much of a problem with clumsiness, despite his height. It was extremely alien and annoying to be tripping over himself so much, especially since he wasn't used to it.

But Logan was pretty sure he knew why. Looking at the taller boy, he noticed just how much blood had soaked through the bandage. It wasn't enough to be worried about quite yet, but it would have to be tended to soon. Between the risk of losing too much blood and getting an infection, James had a lot to be worried about. And maybe that explained the dark circles underneath his eyes.

The deep, purplish circles made his eyes look puffy, showing just how exhausted he was. His face was pale, and he looked like he hadn't slept in days. Maybe he hadn't. His dreams had no doubt been replaced nightmares, and a sleep poisoned with those terrors was no sleep at all. So it made sense that James was way too exhausted. The island was slowly draining the life out of him.

"Why don't we take a break when we get to the next clearing?" Logan suggested quietly. When James looked at him he tried to make himself look tired, which proved easy. He didn't want James to know that they were stopping because of him, because if he did then he would insist that they keep going on and that he was fine, which he clearly wasn't. Logan was tired, too, but he could go on. James, however, looked like he would collapse from exhaustion at any minute. Needless to say, he nodded at Logan's suggestion, a bit of relief showing in his eyes.

The two walked in silence, trying to ignore the way their feet were beginning to drag at the thought of sleep. They were going on about four hours of sleep, _maybe,_ and more than ever they both wished that they were back in the apartment in their own beds. Logan wondered not for the first time what everyone was doing back at the Palm Woods. Running around and panicking, he guessed. He hoped more than anything that they would live long enough to find out.

"There's a clearing up ahead," James muttered, pulling Logan from his thoughts. The shorter boy glanced up and saw that James was right; there was a small, open area that was just visible through two trees about ten feet away. Both boys unconsciously picked up their pace, the thought of getting to rest ironically giving them energy.

When they reached the clearing they both froze in shock. It was so sudden, and even after everything they had been through in the past few days they hadn't expected it. Both of their hearts began to pound, and they let out a collective gasp.

Sitting there, on the other side of the clearing, were Carlos and Kendall.

* * *

**HURRAY! And so they are reunited. I decided that they'd suffered enough... on their own, of course;) So like I said, they're together again. Yay for no more separation! Oh, I shouldn't be saying that. Especially because I... Well, you'll see. So, reviews?**


	16. No rest for the weary

**You guys are going to kill me for this chapter. Originally I was going to give the boys a nice break, you know, after putting them through all this horrible stuff. And then my creative brain decided that that wouldn't work for it, and changed the ending entirely. Yeah. Oh, and I need to clear things up. I'm going to take a break **_**after **_**this is over. Like, the entire thing. I wouldn't just leave you hanging like that. No, I'll finish it, **_**then **_**take a break. Okay? Okay:) And now onto the chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Big Time Rush**

* * *

Damian walked cautiously through the woods, his hands poised near his pocket. His plan was so incredibly simple, and he was almost positive that it would work. It would bring the boys' already crumbling foundation to the ground, crushing it into a million pieces. It would leave them unsure of themselves, and would ultimately lead them to their end. And it would be so easy.

The hunter made his way through the woods. He would still have to be careful. Oh, there was no doubt in his mind about that. The boys had continually gotten lucky, but that was about to end. It was only a matter of time.

* * *

Logan couldn't breathe. The hug that he was being held in was crushing his lungs, making it hard for him to take in air. But he didn't care; in fact, he only tightened his grip around his friends, holding onto them as though if he let them go they would disappear into thin air. The others showed no sign of letting go, but he could care less. Although their hugs were smothering, it also felt as though a huge weight had been lifted off his chest.

James' leg burned, but he didn't notice it. The only thing he was aware of was Kendall, Carlos, and Logan. It seemed unreal to him that they were finally back together again. They had spent what felt like an eternity apart, although in reality it had only been a few days. But maybe that was why it felt like so long; reality was about as real as their worst nightmares. It was warped, twisted into something unnatural. It was unreal reality. A reality, James realized, where he had been reunited with his friends. The relief and joy the thought brought him was nearly overwhelming, and he closed his eyes to hold back the tears.

Carlos didn't even try to control himself. Tears streamed down his cheeks, disappearing as they rolled off his face, but he didn't notice. His whole body was shaking, trembling violently in his friends' arms, but he didn't care. They were finally together again. He and Kendall almost hadn't made it, and right as they had been about to finally give up all hope, they had been given a miracle: they had been given James and Logan. And at the moment that was all Carlos felt that he could ask for.

Kendall couldn't hide his shock. He was crying. For the first time in days, his body was allowing him some expression, some way to show the others how he was doing. But more than that, it was because of James and Logan. They were all together again, and it was one of the best things that could have ever happened. Logan had them all in a death grip, clinging to them as if all of their lives depended on it. Maybe they did. James had his eyes closed, but there was a smile on his face. He was relieved, and he was oblivious to almost everything else. Kendall noticed the bandage around his leg and a bit of the old Kendall, the one who had been a leader and a fighter, shined through, and he felt a twinge of concern for the taller boy. But he was sure it could wait. And then there was Carlos. The Latino was crying hard, but somehow he wasn't making sound. His whole body was quaking, and the number of tears that poured from his eyes seemed unreal. But there was something in his eyes that Kendall had seen in all of the others': immense, overwhelming relief.

Logan relaxed his grip ever so slightly, just enough so that the others could move and breathe again, and Kendall did something amazing. It was as though the world was trying to make everything right again, and this was its way of saying, "Hey! Sorry for making your lives suck!" It didn't make anything okay, not by a long shot, but it still added to the greatness of the moment. As soon as Kendall's lungs had gotten the air they needed, they allowed Kendall to do something that the other boys thought he might never do again: he spoke.

"Man, am I glad to see you guys."

It was the understatement of the millennium, but it just about summed up everything the boys were feeling. They were all so glad to see each other again, something that mere hours ago they had begun to think might be a hopeless dream. Against all odds, they had found each other again. Maybe it was karma; after every horrible thing that had happened to the four of them, it only seemed fair that they got this. Maybe it was the strength of their friendship; the bond they had was unbreakable, even by the most extreme odds. Maybe it was just luck; if either group hadn't stopped, they probably would have kept going along the island, and it could have been a while before they found each other again. Whatever the reason was, only one thing mattered: they were together again.

Stories were exchanged in a flurry of words; none of the boys really wanted to relive the experiences they had been through during the past few days. James and Logan went first, quickly explaining all that had happened during their time alone: James' injury, the hunter finding them, everything. Carlos and Kendall's faces had paled when they heard how close Logan had come to being killed by the hunter, but James and Logan were careful to tone it down; there was no need to upset the others any more than was absolutely necessary.

When it was Carlos and Kendall's turn, it was Kendall who spoke first. Carlos was surprised to find that although he had been silent the entire time, Kendall had been completely aware of everything that was going on. In fact, Carlos only had to jump in a few times here and there, because Kendall covered almost everything. He didn't tell them how he had felt trapped inside himself, or how helpless he knew he had seemed. That would be a story for his therapist once they got off the island. One of many, he realized. There would be a lot to tell once they got off the cursed piece of land.

The boys had been sitting a small circle on the ground, enjoying each others' presence. It was so good to know that they were no longer alone. Everything felt like it was starting to get better, and even though they knew they still had to be careful, they felt more relaxed then they had since they'd first woken up on the island. They should have known better. They should have realized that they were only in the eye of the storm, and that they would soon leave it. They should have known, but they didn't. They could only listen to each other with high hearts, not knowing that things would get worse much sooner than they could have ever imagined.

* * *

The hunter glanced down at the ground, his keen eyes immediately noticing the broken twigs and cracked leaves. Someone had been their recently. _Very _recently. In fact, Damian was fairly certain that he didn't have much farther to go. Those boys wouldn't know what hit him; the things he hunted never did. Even when they did, like the man he had taken down right before releasing the boys from their cages, they always ended up the same way: dead. Stricken down like the lowly beings they were, and by his hand. It was inevitable.

Damian made his way through the woods, a smile playing across his lips. The hunt would be over in a few short hours. And then he would emerge once again, victorious.

* * *

Logan pushed branches out of the way gently, holding them until James held his own hand out so that none of them would get an unexpected slap. The boys stayed close together, all of them unwilling to venture more than a foot away from the others. Spending time with only one other person to lean on instead of three sure made you appreciate any and all time you had with others.

But the excited steps that they had started out taking had slowly grown less energized as the day's events, or even the whole week's events, took their toll on the boys. The spring in their step disappeared after hardly an hour, and although they were all in much better spirits than they had been that morning, they were all exhausted both physically and emotionally. It was time for them to stop and get some rest.

"Let's stop here for the night," Logan said. The light was beginning to dim as the sun slowly went down. The boys could see no sunset because of the trees, but they didn't really care. They were all too tired to stay up to watch one anyway. Within a few minutes Carlos had gotten a small fire going. It was just big enough to cast a bit of light around the area and to give off a tiny amount of warmth, but small enough so that it would be difficult to see from a distance.

James sat down first, putting his leg in the most comfortable position he could manage. The others followed suit, clearing away sticks and leaves as they tried to make the ground more comfortable. As soon as the area was reasonably comfortable, or as comfortable as a hard forest floor could get, Logan said the same thing he had said every night for the past few nights. "I'll take first watch."

Carlos and James laid down instantly, and within moments they were both sound asleep. The sight made Logan smile; neither of them had gotten enough sleep, and they had probably had it the hardest, what with James' leg and Carlos having to watch over Kendall. They needed sleep more than anyone, and Logan was glad to see them finally getting it.

Kendall looked a bit more hesitant, and a bit of the leader side of him showed through. He looked like he wanted to argue, something that Logan hadn't seen in a while. It made his smile widen, and something in his eyes must have told Kendall to sleep, because the blond reluctantly lowered his head to the ground. Despite his desire to stay awake, he had soon dropped off to sleep as well.

Logan stared into the fire, watching as the flames danced and crackled. Something about the fire had always comforted him. He wasn't sure if it was the warmth or the light, or maybe just that safe feeling it gave him. Whatever the reason, he had always liked fire. The wood crackled and snapped as Logan stared at it, as though trying to put on a show. Then there was another snap, this one completely out of place. It didn't belong to the fire; it wasn't even in front of Logan. It was behind him.

Before Logan had a chance to turn around, a hand shot out, clamping over his mouth. Instantly he knew it was the hunter, and without hesitation he began struggling. But it was already too late. He felt a sharp prick in his arm, and after a few more seconds his movements become sluggish. It reminded him of the drug that had been used to knock them all out back at Rocque Records. Before he could ponder this anymore, everything spun, the flames, the forest, and his friends becoming one blur. Then everything went black.

* * *

**-hides- PLEASE DON'T KILL ME! Because this would have happened eventually. I just made it sooner rather than later. I'm sorry:( And a huge thanks to Miss Fenway for going back and reviewing every chapter, and also a big apology to her, for my making it three, without Logan. I told you would hate me for this. BUT HE'S NOT DEAD! So, reviews? -she asks weakly-**


	17. Propositions

**Did everyone have a happy Halloween? I did:) I think this story will be coming to a close pretty quickly. There will probably be about… I don't know, maybe five chapters, give or take a little. It's time to wrap this creepy thing up! Then I can take my little break and move into my Christmas fic, which should start December 1****st****. So be on the lookout for that!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Big Time Rush**

**

* * *

**

James opened his eyes slowly, surprised to see a dim light filtering through the trees. Light? That meant that it was morning. How could that be? Why hadn't someone woken him up? James sat up slowly, shaking off his exhaustion. He was a lot better rested than he had been the day before. He'd had no trouble sleeping now that the huge weight of where Kendall and Carlos were had been lifted. It had left him at peace with everything. But not having been woken up made him incredibly nervous, nervous enough to cover any relief he'd had before.

James looked around the small area where they had spent the night. The embers of the fire were glowing, but there were no flames; no one had stoked it all night. He glanced to the side and saw Kendall sleeping in a tight ball to his left, and to his right Carlos lay sprawled on the forest floor. Any other time James would have found their positions amusing, but at the moment he was too busy looking for one other person: Logan.

The boy was nowhere to be found. James stood up slowly, making his way towards where he had last seen Logan. He'd just been sitting there on the ground near the fire the night before. So where was he now?

James' eyes searched the area, looking for any sign of Logan; he found none. James tried to assure himself that Logan had probably only gone off in search of food or something, but something in the back of his mind told him that that couldn't be true. Logan was smart, the smallest of all of them, and he would have known better than to venture away from the group. The last time he had… James shuddered at the memory, trying to push it away. So unless Logan's common sense had just suddenly disappeared, there had to be another reason. James just wasn't sure he wanted to find it.

* * *

The boys had been looking for Logan for an hour, and there was still nothing. James had awoken Carlos and Kendall immediately, deciding that it would be easier to find their missing friend if they all worked together. But it hadn't made anything easier; Logan was still missing. The boys looked around, desperation beginning to make their movements more careless. Carlos' eyes scanned the ground, no longer careful. He was just looking for something, anything that would clue them in to Logan's whereabouts. Something glinted out of the corner of his eye, and his eyes instantly snapped to it.

It was hidden under a bunch of leaves, the very end sticking out. That was what he had seen; the sunlight must have reflected off the metal. Carlos bent down, his fingers shaking with a nervousness that he couldn't quite explain, and he picked up the mysterious object, pulling it from beneath the leaves. As he stared it at his face drained of all color. _No._

"Guys!" he yelled, his voice cracking. _No. _He had to be wrong. This must have been from something else, from a long time ago. It couldn't have anything to do with them, or Logan, or anything else that was current. _No. _He had to be overreacting. Yeah, that had to be it. Kendall and James would come over and tell him that it was nothing, and that his worry for Logan was clouding his judgment. But somehow he knew that it wasn't true.

James and Kendall emerged from the trees, panicked expressions on both of their faces. "What?" they asked simultaneously. "What is it, Carlos?" James asked. His heart sank when he saw how pale Carlos' face when, but it was nothing compared to what he felt when the Latino held up the object in his hand. It took him a moment to figure it out, and when he did he immediately wished he hadn't. "Oh crap."

Those words just about summed everything up. Kendall and James stared in horror at the thing in Carlos' hands. It was a syringe, like what you used at the doctor. But they all highly doubted that it had been used for any medical, healing purposed. The tip was red, from blood. Logan's blood. The boys stared at each other in complete and utter horror.

"He has Logan."

* * *

Logan groaned as he resurfaced into consciousness. He felt something cold and hard resting underneath his face, something that felt familiar. He wanted to open his eyes to see what it was, but he was still feeling too tired. He wanted nothing more than to fall asleep, no matter how uncomfortable it was. But something stopped him. For some reason he felt as though he needed to open his eyes, to look around. It felt like it was important, although he couldn't figure out why for the life of him. So Logan focused all of his energy on opening his eyes. Instantly he wished he could close them again; he was in a waking nightmare. He was in a cage again.

Logan's heart leapt into his throat, and he resisted the urge to scream. He was back in a cage. After all he'd been through, he'd ended up back in a cage, trapped like an animal. It was enough to make the most level headed person a crazed lunatic. That was exactly what he felt like.

The room he was in, however, was different than the one from before. The other room had been old and wooden, like a large shack. It had a creepy air to it, with its many cages and one, flickering light bulb. This room was much nicer. Looking around, he saw a nice, probably expensive rug, and tan, textured walls. There was a desk in the corner with a bunch of books, and in front of the desk was a huge arm chair. Logan could only guess at where exactly he was, but he thought he had a pretty good idea: he was in the hunter's mansion.

Then he noticed the hunter himself. He was standing off to the side by the door, watching Logan. The boy found it unsettling, but he didn't say anything. He only stared, watching Damian warily as the hunter took a step forward. "Good, you're awake," he said. Logan glared at him. Damian looked like Logan's waking up in a cage was one of the most normal things in the world.

Before the hunter could say anything, Logan blurted out, "Why didn't you just kill me?" The words tumbled from his mouth before he could stop them, and he instantly stopped talking. He hadn't meant to say anything at all, but the hunter didn't seem surprised by his question. Now that Logan thought about it, he really didn't know why the hunter hadn't killed him yet. He'd had every opportunity. He'd attacked Logan when he wasn't expecting it and when the others were asleep. Why had he simply knocked Logan out and taken him back to the mansion, instead of just killing them all then and there? Logan had no idea, and he was completely unprepared for Damian's answer. "Because you are nearly my equal."

Logan opened his mouth to respond, but his jaw went slack and just hung there as he processed the words. What? "What?" That didn't make any sense. The hunter was crazy, a madman. How could Logan possibly be his equal? "You're insane," Logan whispered.

The hunter shook his head and laughed. "And you're not?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. Logan tried to say something else, but Damian cut him off. "You should consider yourself lucky, you know. No one I've ever brought to the island has ever gotten anywhere close to my level. You're one of the youngest, and yet you've managed to evade me _and _keep your little friends safe for more than a day. Not many people can say that, boy." Logan wanted to clap his hands over his ears and drown out everything the hunter was saying. It couldn't be true.

"You're not quite my equal; no, I'd like to say that I'm still above you. But you're not far behind." Something in his demeanor changed. He looked almost… eager. "Which is why I have a proposition for you. Someone with your level of skill shouldn't squander their talents on something stilly like a boy band. You've got so much potential, Logan. Which is why I am offering you the choice to join me."

Logan felt as though he'd been punched in the stomach. Join him? Join that sick, twisted, son of a- "Now, I know what you're thinking, Logan, but hear me out. If you join me not only will you live, but I'll let your friends go. Don't you want that for them? Join me and you have my word that they'll all get off the island, unharmed. They can go back to their lives. Don't you see this is best for everyone?" The hunter looked at him with insane, anticipating eyes.

Logan stared about him, his words echoing in his head. _Don't you see this is best for everyone? _Logan didn't see. And the hunter hadn't exactly been the most trustworthy guy ever. Logan looked away for a few seconds, and when he looked back his eyes burned with an intense,, angry light. "No."

* * *

Kendall, Carlos, and James walked aimlessly through the forest. It had been Carlos who had said that Logan couldn't be dead yet. They would have felt it. It had been James that had realized that the hunter must have taken Logan somewhere. The syringe had been used to knock him out when they were all asleep. It was Kendall who pointed out that if the hunter took him anywhere, it would probably be back to his mansion. He would have the biggest advantage there. So that's where they were going. They were going to get Logan back and they were going to get away from the hunter once and for all. How, however, they had no idea.

* * *

The hunter sighed in disappointment, but he didn't look entirely surprised. "I hoped that you would see the right path, Logan. What's more, I thought you were smart enough to choose it. But no matter. I always have a backup plan."

Logan watched him warily as he began to pace back and forth in front of his cage. "You're not as smart as you look, either," Logan said boldly. The hunter raised on eyebrow. "You should have known that I would never leave my friends and trust them to you. And you should have known that I would never sink to your level and hunt humans. You're sick." The hunter looked at him and just laughed. "Oh but Logan, I _did_ know that. You think I didn't expect that? In fact, I was counting on it. You see, I've noticed something about you boys. You have a strange relationship. You each contribute something to the group."

"I was originally led to believe that it was Kendall who was the leader, but I was misinformed; it was you. I've seen the way the other boys looked at you and depend on your leadership. It's almost like a parent and their children. The children look to their parent for guidance and help, something that you've given to the others. And when a child can't find their parent, what do they do? They look for them. I'm sure your friends are doing that.

Logan paled a little. Damian was leading the others into a trap, a trap that would end in their deaths. And he was the bait. He shook the cage. "No!" he screamed. The hunter began laughing, a sick, terrible sound that echoed throughout the room. "It's too late for them, Logan. They'll come." A horrible smile found its way onto his face. It chilled Logan to the bone.

"In fact, I bet they're already on their way."

* * *

**The hunter needs to go die in a hole. Seriously. I think some of you are going to REALLY like the ending –dies- No, seriously though. I really think you will. Some of you:) So, reviews?**


	18. Nothing Even Matters

**I have horrible planning. I always just miss the BTR boys' birthdays when it comes to updating. So I would like to wish a happy belated birthday to Mr. Kendall Schmidt, who finally left his teen years yesterday and joined the others in the age of the twenties:) That's all for now. Read on!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Big Time Rush**

* * *

Gustavo, Kelly, and the Knights sat around the bright living room of 2J. Kelly had her arms wrapped around Mrs. Knight and Katie in what was supposed to be a comforting gesture, but since she was who she was, Kelly looked like she was about to burst into tears herself. But she knew she had to stay strong for the boys. This was no time for freaking out, panicked, hysterical Kelly; the situation called for a different side of her, a braver one. A side that honestly, up until a few days ago, she hadn't known that she'd had.

Gustavo was staring at his cell phone, which was lying crookedly on the table. His eyes were squinted, and he had an intense, almost angry look on his face as he waited for the phone to ring. If the boys had been back, they probably would have found the way he looked funny, because he looked absolutely ridiculous. But there was nothing funny about the situation, and the boys weren't there to laugh at him anyway.

His eyes were beginning to water from being open for so long, but he couldn't bring himself to blink. His attention was completely focused on the little metal box in front of him that would bring any news on the boys.

Mrs. Knight and Katie were complete wrecks. Mrs. Knight felt as though she had not only lost one child, but four. In the time that they had lived in L.A., she had come to think of the other three boys as of much of sons as Kendall. So when the boys had been declared missing, it was only logical that she would be freaking out ten times as much. And she had been freaking out; the number of times she cried in the past week was staggering.

Katie, however, was different. Unlike her mother, who was completely okay with the idea of crying in front of people, Katie had always liked to keep her emotions to herself. She'd never considered people who cried weak, but she'd always liked to come off as the strong, independent type who didn't get hurt by anything. She knew her mom was worried about her, but she wished she wasn't. In her eyes, Katie wasn't the one who needed the attention; her brothers were.

Everyone jumped and froze as a small, tinny sounding song burst from the phone. Gustavo couldn't help but think that it was bitter irony that the song just so happened to be 'Nothing Even Matters.' The content of the song had absolutely nothing to do with the situation, but the title said it all. Nothing mattered until they got those boys back.

Nobody moved as the phone continued to ring. They had been expecting the call; one of Griffin's private investigators had called Rocque Records to let them know that they were looking into something, and they could expect to hear from them soon. But now that the phone was ringing, and a glance at the caller ID showed that it was indeed the PI, no one seemed like they could move. It was as though they were afraid of what they find.

"_We'll be here forever, getting closer, and closer baby." _Those words signaled that the phone would stop ringing soon and send the caller to Gustavo's voicemail. Without pausing for second thoughts, Gustavo reached over and picked up the phone, putting it on speaker for everyone to hear. "Hello?"

There was no pause on the other end of the line. "Is this Gustavo Rocque?" The record producer instantly recognized the voice of the man whom he had spoken to mere hours ago. "This is he," he confirmed. His voice was surprisingly firm, especially compared to how badly he was shaking on the inside. This time there was a slight moment of silence on the other end of the line, and the PI came back on.

"We have a lead on the boys' location."

* * *

Kendall, Carlos, and James made their way closer and closer to the hunter's mansion. They could see a thin light filtering in through the trees ahead, and if they really squinted they could just make out part of the mansion. As they neared the edge of the woods, Kendall stopped and held out an arm, causing the others to pause.

It was a bit strange seeing Kendall as the leader again, but after years of living with it they transitioned back to it fairly easily. James and Carlos watched him as he spoke. "You guys _do _realize that this is probably a trap, right?" The others nodded without hesitation. Of course they knew that. That was one of the only things they had been thinking about the entire way towards the mansion. However, there was another thing that they had to keep in mind.

"But he has Logan." Nothing else mattered, and nothing else needed to be said. Without another word Kendall spun on his heel, and the boys made their way towards the mansion, and most importantly, Logan.

* * *

Logan shook the bars of the cage with every ounce of strength he could muster. The cage was equally, if not more sturdy than the one he had been in before. The hunter had left a few moments ago to retrieve a gun. Damian wanted to be prepared for when the others got there. Everything would end tonight. No matter what.

The cage door wouldn't budge. The logical side of Logan was telling him that it probably wouldn't, at least on his strength alone. But that didn't matter. Pure, unfiltered fear clouded his thoughts and judgments. Fear, he realized, and the insanity that came with being in a cage, _again. _That was the only way he could explain what he did next.

His movements were a blur, and before he himself fully comprehended what he was doing, Logan slammed himself against the cage. Pain lit up his shoulder, but he was oblivious to it all. In the back of his mind a memory came forward; this was exactly what Kendall had done. Logan stumbled back and tensed his muscles, throwing himself again, and again, and again.

The door opened, and Logan somehow forced himself to stop. He looked up, expecting to see Damian. His super brief mental breakdown had left him weary and wary, and he needed to be sharp when the hunter was around. Logan tried to compose himself and collect his wits as the door swung open even, preparing himself for the hunter. But it wasn't the hunter; in fact, it was a man that Logan had never seen before in his life. It was Christopher.

Christopher made his way over to the cage silently. The boy watched him, his eyes cautious but clearly puzzled as Damian's servant fished through his pockets. Finally Christopher found what he was looking for; a key. Unlike the cages in the "cage house," as he called it, this cage wasn't locked and unlocked electronically; it required a key, and there were only two that fit the lock in existence. Damian had one, and Christopher had the other. Wordlessly he put the key in the lock, turning it until he heard a small click and the lock fell away.

He wasn't doing it because he wanted to help Logan; quite the opposite. He knew that no matter what, his master would kill the boy. But Damian had become desperate and unprofessional in his methods; true hunters didn't have to lure their prey in. It showed weakness, something that Damian didn't have. Locking Logan in a cage did nothing to show the cunning and strength that Christopher knew the hunter possessed. Christopher wasn't letting Logan go to help the boy. He was simply doing it to salvage Damian's honor. He saw it as his way of paying off some of the debt that he owed the hunter for all that he had done over the years. Besides, the boy was going to die either way. He was only prolonging the inevitable.

Christopher let the door swing open and left the room without another word, leaving a bewildered Logan behind. The boy stared at the empty space in front of them. He wanted to scream "What was that?" He'd only ever heard Kendall and Gustavo say that, but if it didn't apply to this situation, Logan wasn't sure it applied anywhere. What had that been about? Had that stranger just… set Logan free?

Logan took a wary step from the cage, and he was overwhelmed with a sudden feeling of déjà vu. He took one step, and then another, until he was at the door that the man had left from. It had been left ajar, giving Logan a view of the hall. The hunter was nowhere to be seen. Logan took one last look at the room that he had briefly been kept prisoner and started down the hall, searching for his friends.

* * *

Kendall, Carlos, and James made their way quickly and quietly towards the mansion. The area was unnaturally still, and it only served to heighten their nervousness. Every step they took was cautious, but nothing happened. The area remained still as the house loomed nearer. Finally they were standing in front of the porch, and then walking up it. They all knew just how stupid it was to walk up to the hunter's front door, but there was no other way in. They had already walked around the mansion, looking for another entrance or an open window. But there was none, and they were left with this. James reached his hand out carefully to open the door, but he needn't have bothered. The door swung open in front of them, and the hunter appeared in the doorway. "Hello, boys."

All three of them froze. They weren't surprised, not really. But that didn't stop the painful tightening in their stomachs, or the way they were suddenly unable to take in a breath. The hunter smiled their reactions, and he swung the gun that was resting in his hands up, pointing it at the boys. "I was wondering how long it would take you to get here."

None of the boys moved an inch as they flicked their gaze between Damian and the gun. Things always seemed to turn out that way; they made a move, fully aware that things could go wrong at any second, and that was exactly what happened. Things went wrong. That was just the luck that the island brought to the boys.

The hunter watched as every last bit of color left all of the boys' faces. The so called leader, Kendall, was staring at him like he had two heads. The Latino one, Carlos, was trembling like a leaf, and he looked like he would fall over at any second. The tallest one, James, was biting his lip, looking ready to scream. Damian found amusement in their reactions, and he finger curled in anticipation around the trigger. This was what he had been waiting for. He was finally going to end it, or at least almost. Logan would be easy enough to dispose of once the others were gone. He was finally going to get to watch as the boys died by his hand, and he would get to see the light leave their eyes. His finger tightened dangerously around the trigger, and…

A single shot rang out, and all four of them gasped. Then the hunter dropped the gun and fell to his knees, shutting his eyes in agony. Logan stood behind him, a smoking gun still in his hands. His eyes were wide, disbelieving as he stared at what he had just done. He had stumbled across a terrible room on his way through the mansion. It had been like a maze, and he had just happened to glance into a room that was filled with weapons of all sorts. He had grabbed the closest one he could find, which just so happened to be a shotgun. Who knew how much protection the boys would need? Apparently a lot, or Logan wouldn't have been standing there after having just fired a shot.

But the hunter wasn't dead. That was the only thing that snapped Logan out of his shock. He wasn't entirely sure where he'd hit him, but Logan hadn't killed the hunter. Damian was weakly trying to push himself off the ground. Logan wasn't sure if he was relieved by the fact that he hadn't taken a life, or that the hunter was still alive and able to come after them. But he would have time to worry about that later.

"Go!" The word slipped out, but that was exactly what the boys needed to do. So they ran. They ran to the woods, for their lives. They heard the hunter let out a pained, rage filled roar, but that was already in the distance. As the boys burst into the tree line, one thought crossed through all of their minds. What had just happened had been a repetitive occurrence ever since they had first woken up on the island. After everything that had happened, they had to wonder: was it ever going to stop?

* * *

**So I realize that this chapter was pretty fast paced, and kind of the stereotypical fall-into-a-trap-and-get-saved-at-the-last-second ending, but I had horrible writer's block, and this chapter was just really hard to write. Darn writing disease :( So, reviews?**


	19. Comforting buzz

**Sorry for the slightly longer wait! I literally did NO writing for two days, which might seem like nothing to some of you, but usually I write every day. I must say, though, it was kind of relaxing. I love writing more than anything, but sometimes I need a break. But I'm supposed to take those AFTER I finish this, not in the middle (or rather, towards the end) So again, I'm sorry. But here it is now! And I have to ask you guys: WHO WATCHED BIG TIME SNEAKERS? It was amazing. Like seriously, Logan+James=AMAZINGNESS. Lol.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Big Time Rush**

* * *

Dozens of men in black, serious looking uniforms ran around the busy landing strip. They had received their orders minutes before, and their mission was clear: Get to the coordinates they'd been given and get those boys out alive, no matter what. They already had two helicopters prepped for liftoff, and the third was almost ready. They would be off to the location they had been given in a matter of minutes.

* * *

Gustavo, Kelly, Mrs. Knight and Katie stood at the police station, watching in amazement as the police went about their usual activities. The action wasn't here, where the were, but somewhere else, at a location that they hadn't been given. They police weren't doing anything; SWAT was.

SWAT. They were only called in during movies as far as Katie was concerned. But this was no movie. She couldn't believe it had come to this; none of them could. It wasn't just a simple kidnapping like they'd originally thought. No, the boys were on an _island._ It was a private island, about 250 miles off the coast of California. In retrospect, 250 miles wasn't that big of a distance, but they were in the middle of the ocean. And now they had SWAT coming to rescue them. It was so unrealistic, almost like a script from Hollywood. Katie wished it was just another sick plot that some director had come up with; that would make things so much easier.

Mrs. Knight stood back and watched the organized chaos that was the Los Angeles Police Department. Since moving to the city, Mrs. Knight had learned that ángeles meant angels. It didn't take long for anyone to see that many of the people who lived in the city were exactly the opposite. The officer that stood before them all was a perfect example. Officer Robertson had been no angel.

Ever since he had been assigned the boys' case, he had been incredibly bitter towards the Knights, Gustavo, and Kelly, and they couldn't understand why for the life of them. He had shown nothing but hostility towards the group in the past week. Now, though, he just looked incredibly forlorn. Something had changed about him, something that no one could quite place.

But at the moment, they really didn't care. That would be something to wonder about later. For now, all they could do was hope and pray that the boys would be home soon, safe and sound.

* * *

Logan ran quickly, swifter than he'd ever run before. That was really saying something, especially with his track record. But as he flew through the forest, with Kendall, James, and Carlos right behind him, he didn't think about how fast he was going, only about how he needed to go faster.

They'd done nothing but run ever since they'd arrived at the island. They'd run when they first got out of the cages; they'd run when the hunter first caught up to them; they'd run a hundred times after. They'd been in motion almost constantly, and every time they had always been driven by fear and desperation. This time was just like the other times, but at the same time this felt… different somehow. There was something that made this time different from all of the others, but none of them could figure out what it was. All they knew was that something big was about to happen.

They ran past a lot of places they'd been before; the pineapples that had saved them from starvation, the river where they had escaped from Damian, only to be separated from each other, the strange, stair-step tree, and so much more. It was all a blur, one big montage of the huge nightmare they'd been going through. They had no idea where they were supposed to be going; all that mattered was that they got away. So they ran for their lives, not knowing when it was ever going to end.

* * *

Christopher watched as the hunter stumbled through the front door, silently glancing at the small trail of blood that followed him. Damian's movements were jerky, and he looked like he was in a great deal of pain. Instantly Christopher had bandages in his hands, but when he took a step forward his master waved him off. "Later," he muttered through gritted teeth. Christopher slowly lowered his hands, setting the medical supplies on a nearby table as the hunter moved past him.

Damian walked past him without another word, heading towards the weapons room. Their feet padded soundlessly on the thick carpet as they made their way through the mansion. When they reached the door of the room, Damian finally spoke. "How did he get free?" His voice was just barely above a whisper, but there was no mistaking the pure rage. Christopher didn't say anything as the hunter pushed the door open, but it appeared he didn't need an answer anyway. Damian grabbed a gun and a hunting knife. "Oh well. It doesn't matter." And with that, Damian left the room.

But he didn't go towards the front door like Christopher had expected; instead, he moved further back into his home. The servant followed, genuinely puzzled. What on earth could he possibly have left to do? The two went deeper and deeper into the mansion, until Damian finally stopped in front of the room he was looking for: his den.

Damian made his way over to his desk, where his Mac was in sleep mode. He wiggled the mouse, and when the screen lit up, Christopher was able to see his face in the dim light. The hunter's face was pale, no doubt from the wound that he had recently received. But there was more than that. Christopher saw madness in Damian's eyes that he'd never seen before.

If eyes were the windows to the soul, then Damian's must not have had a soul at all. All that could be seen was madness. Before that, there had only been cold, hard apathy. If Damian had a soul, it was one full of evil and sadism. And now insanity. Insanity, Christopher realized, that had been there all along, and that he'd just never seen before.

Damian's eyes were fixed on the computer screen, and his eyebrows lifted in amusement as he watched something. Then, just as quickly, his eyes hardened, and he tensed noticeably. His hand moved for his gun and gripped it tightly, a calm, almost scary look coming over him. "Well isn't that interesting." There was something strange in his tone. Christopher took a small step forward, moving so that he could just make out what was on the computer screen. It was a video, not unlike the ones used with security cameras. There was a shot of the room where Logan had been in earlier. As Christopher watched with a growing sense of despair, he saw himself come in and unlock the cage door. "Does loyalty mean nothing these days?" Damian murmured.

Christopher opened his mouth. He needed to explain, to show his master that he'd done what he did for all the right reasons. But it was too late. Before Christopher could say a word, Damian had brought the gun up and pulled the trigger. Christopher's eyes widened for a brief second, and then all the life left them and he collapsed to the floor, unmoving. The hunter lowered his gun, no remorse in his eyes. It had to be done, and now it was over. Christopher was dead.

Damian lowered his gun and looked back at the computer screen. This was something he'd never done before, but it was necessary. He wanted this hunt over, and he wanted it over _now._ And he was going to do whatever it took. Glancing back at the computer, he tapped a few keys and watched as a map of the island appeared on the screen. There were four blinking lights, all in the same area. He'd used the tracking devices. It was the first time in his years as a hunter that he had ever had to use them, but he only used that knowledge to fuel his growing hatred for the boys. He had their current location, and it would be easy to find them.

Damian shut down his computer. He would have no need of it when he got back. Everything would end tonight. No matter what.

The hunter grabbed his gun and began walking towards the front of the mansion. He reached it in a matter of seconds, and instantly he rushed out of the door. He needed to move quickly, before the boys got too much farther away. As he ran down the field towards the woods, a sound suddenly filled the stillness of the island. It started off as a gentle hum at first, but slowly it grew, until it drowned out everything. The hunter froze in shock, staring up at the sky with wide eyes. Then he was sprinting through the trees. He was going to find those boys. And they were going to pay.

* * *

Kendall, James, Carlos, and Logan made their way through the woods. They'd stopped running after a while, when everyone except Logan thought their legs would give out. They all had amazing endurance, but they were all wiped, both physically and mentally.

The boys walked quickly over fallen twigs and leaves, wincing at every crunch. They had no idea where they were going, but they were still alive. For the moment, at least. Logan wasn't sure what they were going to do. They needed to get away, but there was nowhere to go. If they were still somewhere near South America like he thought they were… There was no telling how far they were from the mainland. Where could they go?

Logan was in the lead, with the other three right behind him. They were going uphill, not that that made any difference. All of their feet were dragging, weariness slowly their movements as they continued through the trees. They were really becoming exhausted, more than they'd ever been in their entire lives. Logan just wanted to go home.

The air was becoming heavier and heavier, and Logan was beginning to get a strange buzz in his ears. Maybe he was more tired than he thought. But as they moved farther and farther uphill, the buzz grew into a deep, chopping hum. All four boys stopped, listening, and Logan knew that he wasn't the only one who heard it. The sound was still way off in the distance, but it was growing steadily louder. Logan knew that sound. He'd heard that sound almost every night since they'd lived in L.A. and occasionally back in Minnesota. He knew that sound. Now, at that moment, that sound meant everything in the world. It meant rescue.

It was a helicopter.

* * *

**Just so you know, I have NO idea how SWAT really works. So if any of this was wrong… Well, now you know why.:) And how sad, that they're pretty close to the U.S. and they think they're in South America:( So according to my handy dandy chapter outline, there are three more chapters. And since I fail at endings, and endings always make me sad… I'm not too excited for that. I kind of am. But I'm also not. After this I have my lovely Christmas fic, which I'm hoping to get to 25 chapters, one for every day of December up until Christmas. And guess what? THERE WILL BE NO ANGST! Lol. That will be an adventure.:) So, reviews?**


	20. It ends tonight

**Writer's block makes me feel like I fail at life. Lol, no seriously. Because I had a really hard time writing this chapter, and I totally hate when that happens. I think my Creative Brain went on vacation early or something, and it needs to come back! So if this chapter is terrible… you have permission to bring out the pitchforks. But I got it all done yesterday for two reasons. One: I felt bad for posting a day late, so I figured maybe I could balance it out by posting a day early. Two: I want this to be over. Because then I can do my little (okay, not so little) Christmas thing, and then I have this idea that I'm really excited for for when that's all over. So. And this chapter is named for the amazing song 'It Ends Tonight' by the All American Rejects.:)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Big Time Rush**

* * *

There was no movement as the boys stood completely still and silent, listening as the sound of the helicopter grew slightly louder with every passing second. Back in Los Angeles, the deep, throbbing hum of helicopters had always gotten on Logan's nerves, especially late at night when he was trying to sleep. He'd been in a helicopter once with his dad, and he'd absolutely hated it because it had been so loud. Now it seemed like the most beautiful sound in the world.

None of the boys said a word. Logan was listening in wonder. James was looking up at the sky with wide eyes, searching for the source of the noise. Carlos' gaze shifted from the sky, to Logan, to James, to Kendall, and then back to the sky. Kendall looked like his legs were about to give out, and a huge smile had broken out on his face. An overwhelming sense of comfort washed over them, and they felt relieved beyond imagination. Someone was coming for them; they were finally going to get off the island.

Logan stared at the sky in a daze. It was mind blowing; after everything they had been through, was it finally almost over? They had spent nearly a week on the island, a week that had felt like an eternity. Eternities never ended; maybe that was why Logan was having a hard time wrapping his mind around the fact that the helicopters were coming, and that they would soon arrive. They were going to be saved.

"We should get where they could see us." All eyes turned to Carlos, who had finally rested his gaze on the sky. Kendall raised an eyebrow and confusion flashed through all of their eyes before they understood what Carlos was suggesting. They were surrounded by trees, in a relatively dense forest. It would be hard to see them from way up in the air, so they needed to get to an open, uncovered area if they wanted to get off the island as quickly as possible. And boy did they ever.

The boys looked in every direction, trying to decide which way the beach was. Finally they decided to go right, deciding that whatever direction they took would eventually reach the edge of the island. The four set off in that direction with higher hearts. It would all end tonight.

* * *

Damian was fuming. In the short time that the boys had been on the island, they had managed to escape him, injure him, and now they had brought the authorities to the island. The hunter couldn't even begin to fathom how four teenagers could cause so much trouble. But it didn't matter. He vowed that no matter what, it would all end tonight.

* * *

Logan ran through the woods, pushing through the brush as he looked for a break in the trees. It was funny, in a totally not funny way, that every time he thought he'd finally stopped running, he ended up running some more. But this time he wasn't away from something; instead, he was heading _for _it. It was nice to have the situation reversed for a change.

Suddenly they were out of the trees, not on a beach… but on the cliff. The boys slowed down, and soon the ground turned from grass and sticks to rough, solid rock. The boys took a step forward, then another, taking themselves closer and closer to the edge. Now that the trees weren't blocking their vision, they had a clear view of the sky, and they could make out three dark specs in the distance. Without even considering the fact that whoever was in the chopper wouldn't hear them, the boys began waving their arms madly and screaming.

"Hey!"

"Over here! We're over here!"

"Help us! Come on!"

"This way! Look, we're right-"

All four of them broke off as a huge bang was heard from behind, beating out all other sound. Slowly, and with heavy hearts, the boys turned, looking for the source of the noise. The hunter stood about thirty feet away, holding a smoking gun in his hands. There was a wild, maniacal gleam in his eyes as he took a step forward, pointing the gun at them. Logan's heart sank. He hoped; he'd hoped with all of his heart that they would get away without any more traumas. But somehow he'd known that it wouldn't end like that. Everything had to be difficult on the island of Venator.

Damian stumbled forward, ignoring the searing pain in his back. He wasn't sure what he was going to do once he'd killed the boys, now that he had no one to help him. But that would be something to worry about later. For now all he could think about was ending what he'd started. It would all end tonight.

The hunter took a step forward, the gun raised and ready to shoot. It had just been pointed at the four boys in general, but now he had an exact target: Logan. The one who had caused him all of the problems, leading his friends to safety and away from the hunter. After Logan would be James, the one who had injured him twice. Carlos, who had kept Kendall alive, would be next, and then Kendall. It didn't entirely matter who went first, because they would all be gone within the next minute or so. But Logan had to go first. He was going to end the boy, once and for all.

Damian took another step forward, his finger curling around the trigger dangerously. This was it. After all of the problems the boys had caused him, after all of the times they had gotten away, he was finally going to end it. All he had to do was pull the trigger, and it would all be over…

Something snapped inside the hunter. Whatever human part of him there was left crumbled, leaving behind pure, hate-filled rage. He lowered the gun, smirking at the boys' bewildered looks, and let the weapon fall from his hands, letting it fall to the ground. He laughed once, a horrible, chilling sound. "Did you really think it would be that easy for you? That I would just shoot you and be done with it?" Logan stared at him as the hunter's hands moved, grabbing something behind his back: a knife.

Five pairs of eyes were on the sharp weapon, watching as light glinted off its deadly surface. Damian's grin widened as he took a step forward, watching as the boys took a step back. "That would be too easy, too quick." He looked back down at the blade, twirling the weapon with grace and skill as he took another, dramatic step forward. Then his eyes hardened, and he fixed Logan in a cold, hard glare. "You're going to die a slow, painful death for what you've done." And with that, Damian ran forward.

Logan was trapped. Behind was the edge of the cliff. If he didn't hit the rocks first, the impact of hitting the water would surely kill him. But on the other hand, he really had no desire to bleed to death, which he was almost positive was what the hunter had in mind. Logan didn't want to die period.

Everything felt like it was moving in slow motion. Damian was getting closer and closer, the knife glinting almost as dangerously as his eyes. Logan could hear the sharp intakes of breath from Kendall, Carlos, and James as the hunter neared them. Without even realizing what he was doing, Logan took a step forward. Surprise flashed through Damian's eyes momentarily, but just as quickly as it had appeared it was gone, replaced by determination. He swung the knife, aiming right for Logan's chest, but the boy wasn't there. With a speed he didn't know he'd possessed, the BTR member had lunged out of the way, tucking and rolling to his feet.

The hunter didn't hesitate. As soon as his weapon hit the empty arm he had changed directions, going for Logan again. The other boys had snapped out of their shock, and now they were moving forward, ready to help their friend.

Damian swung and slashed, and Logan ducked and weaved. It looked like some kind of strange dance: the dance of death. And only one of them would emerge alive.

Kendall's hand shot forward, trying to grab the hunter's arm before he could take another swipe at Logan. Instantly the hunter swung around, bringing his other fist up and slamming it into Kendall's nose. As the blonde stumbled back James and Carlos stepped in, fists raised. Damian swung the knife at Carlos, cursing as it missed the boy. While his attention was focused on Carlos, James seized the opportunity, kicking out at the arm that held the knife. It didn't fall out of his hand as he'd expected; instead, Damian turned his attention to the taller boy, insanity in his eyes as he lunged forward.

James tried to jump back, but his leg was still hurt from what had happened in the river the other day. He stumbled backwards and tripped, tumbling to the ground. His head smacked against the hard rock with a sickening thud, and for a second his vision dimmed. When everything came back into focus he saw Damian leaning over him, getting ready to plunge the knife into his body. James closed his eyes and turned his eyes, praying that the end would come painlessly. He waited for the agony to come. But it didn't.

Logan watched in horror as the hunter prepared to kill James. His mind shut down and his body took over, throwing him at the man who had tortured them nonstop since they'd arrived on the island. He slammed into the hunter, tackling him to the ground. The two rolled over and over, taking them closer to the edge of the cliff. Finally Logan broke away, and the two leapt to their feet, facing each other. Somehow Damian had managed to hold onto his knife throughout the whole thing, and how he glared at Logan, his eyes burning with an intense hatred. It would all end tonight.

Logan was trapped, again. He was literally on the edge. He tried to take a step backward, but his foot only found empty air. He didn't risk a glance behind him, but he already knew that one more step and he would be off of the cliff, plummeting to the ocean. Damian seemed to realize this as well, and his lips curled into a sneer. "This ends. Now." And then he lunged forward.

Time didn't slow down like it always does is in the movies. Instead, the blade seemed to come at Logan faster than seemed humanly possible. He lunged out of the way desperately, throwing his body to the ground. At the very edge of the cliff, there wasn't much room, and Logan found his head and shoulders hanging over the edge. Instantly he scrambled back, feeling something collide with his leg. There was a gasp, and when he looked up Logan saw the hunter- just as he went over the side of the cliff.

Logan's eyes widened, and instantly he was at the edge, looking down. The hunter fell, and as Logan watched in transfixed horror, he landed on the rocks. And he didn't move. Logan knew that, without a doubt, Damian was dead.

He heard his friends come up behind him as he pushed himself off the ground, but none of them said anything. They could only stare in amazement. It was over. Damian, the hunter, the one who had caused them so much pain and suffering, the one who had driven them to the brink of insanity, was dead. It was all over, and they were all alive. It was over.

The chopping of the helicopters had grown increasingly louder, and if Logan could have brought himself to look up he would have seen one of the helicopters was right above them, and it was slowly getting closer to the ground. There wasn't much room for it to land, but the pilot was clearly a trained professional. Soon the helicopter was resting on the cliff top, and men in black uniforms were jumping to the ground, running towards the boys.

There was shouting all around him, but to Logan it was just all one huge roar. Someone grabbed his arm, and he found himself being led towards the helicopter. He glanced behind him and saw that James, Carlos, and Kendall were right there. Logan allowed himself to be helped onto the aircraft. Within moments they had all been buckled in and they were lifting off.

The copter rose higher into the air, and from up high Logan could see the whole island. Most of it was hidden by trees, but he was just able to make out the hunters mansion and the room full of cages they'd been kept in. He could see a few clearings here and there, and the river. The other two helicopters had landed, one on the beach and the other near the mansion, and already men were beginning to spill out, searching the island. Logan wished them luck, knowing that whatever they found would be horrible. But Logan didn't have to worry about any of it.

It was finally all over.

* * *

**For those of you who have read all of my other stuff, I'm sure you've noticed a trend: I always kill the bad guy. Lol. I REALLY need to work on that in my next fic that there's a bad guy in, because… Well, one: it's just lazy. Two: a trial could be really interesting. Three: it's just lazy. Seriously. If I didn't really want this story to be over so that I could move onto my other fics, I would probably do a different ending. But whatever. Now the boys are safe. Whoo! And I'm pretty sure that at least some of you are perfectly fine with my killing Damian.:) So, reviews?**


	21. Reunion

**I bought an app called "Writer's Block Buster" on iTunes, hoping it would dispel my WB. It didn't. :( Why I would have writer's block at the very end of something is a mystery to me. ANYWAY. Funny side note. I was listening to 'Turn It Off' by Paramore, and the words… Oh man. "And the worst part is before it gets any better we're headed for a cliff." And what happened in the last chapter? Lol. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Big Time Rush**

* * *

The boys sat on the hard seats of the helicopter, staring off into space. One of the SWAT men had re-bandaged James' leg, assuring them that they would have it further checked out and treated as soon as they landed back in Los Angeles and that it would be fine until then. Logan was relieved that it hadn't developed into something more serious; who knew what they would have done if it had gotten an infection. Not much else had been said, but that was mainly because it was so hard to be heard over the roar of the copter. Still, Logan wasn't entirely sure of what he would have said if given the opportunity.

Before they had lifted off, the pilot had told them that they would be back to L.A. within about an hour. To say that Logan was surprised would have been a huge understatement. He'd been thinking that they were somewhere off the coast of South America, when in reality they had only been a few hundred miles from California. After pondering over this for a few minutes, Logan decided that that must have been the hunter's intention the entire time. It was a mind game to any who knew island geography, perhaps to drive them crazier.

Damian had gotten what was coming to him. Logan had never been one for violence and death, but he felt no remorse for the hunter. There was no telling how many innocent people he'd taken and hunted over the years, how many lives he'd destroyed just for his sick, twisted enjoyment. In Logan's opinion, he'd gotten off way too easily. His death had come quickly, and now he would never get the punishment he deserved for causing so many people so much pain. But that didn't matter. The hunter was gone, and he would never hurt anyone again.

Logan was sitting right next to a window, and when he looked out he could see nothing but water. They were in the middle of the ocean. It was natural and serene, but Logan couldn't wait to get back to the crowded, bustling city of L.A. He'd seen enough of nature to last a lifetime, and he was ready to be back in the overpopulated, artificial place he called home.

Logan relaxed back into his seat, closing his eyes as a sudden wave of exhaustion washed over him. They were going back home. Tonight they would get to sleep in their own beds, instead of dirt and leaves. They could have actual food, and watch TV, and just hand out around the pool. He would get to see Camille. The thought of his unofficial girlfriend brought a smile to his face, and he found himself relaxing even more. The thoughts were extremely comforting, and Logan found that the loud, rhythmical chopping of the helicopter actually had a calming effect on him. It was probably because of how relieved he was to feel safe again, but whatever the case, he felt more at peace than he had in a long time.

Still smiling, Logan allowed the tiredness that he'd been fighting to take over, and within moments he had fallen into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

Mrs. Knight, Katie, Kelly, and Gustavo watched the sky anxiously, waiting for the helicopter that would bring the boys home to appear in the Los Angeles skyline. They had been brought to the airport by the police, and now they were waiting impatiently. There were several ambulances waiting nearby, ready to take the boys to the hospital if necessary. Everyone was hoping on everything they had that they wouldn't be needed.

The group tore their gazes from the sky as someone cleared their throat in front of them. They all looked up to see Officer Robertson, to officer that had been in charge of the boys' case. Kelly, Gustavo, and Mrs. Knight tensed, ready to start yelling at the man if he said anything negative or remotely rude, and Katie was watching him nervously. She didn't want him to bring down their spirits, not when they were so close to getting her brothers back. But instead of the cold, bitter look he'd worn every time they'd seen him, Officer Robertson looked nervous, and almost a little apologetic.

All eyes were on the law enforcement officer as he looked at each one of them individually, regret in his eyes. "I… I need to apologize for the way I've acted," he said quietly, looking away in embarrassment. Gustavo opened his mouth to yell and tell him that that was exactly what he needed to do, but Kelly elbowed him before he could say anything, giving her boss a look that clearly said "let him finish." The man shut his mouth, watching the officer warily. Taking their silence as permission to keep going, Robertson continued.

"I… used to have a younger brother. He was about six years younger than me, so naturally I was very protective of him. But there wasn't really much to worry about with him. He was a normal guy, with an average job. He wasn't married, so he lived alone, but that wasn't a big deal. He lived in a pretty safe area of town, and I only lived a few blocks away. After a while I started letting my guard down, growing more relaxed as I became used to the city. But then one day he went missing. There were no leads; no one had seen anything happen to him. We checked out all security cameras within a mile of where he'd been seen last, but we never found anything except for a black van. But that wasn't enough. I searched for him for two years, but I… We never found him. Eventually the investigation was dropped."

Officer Robertson hung his head, lost in his own memories while the others stared at him sympathetically. Taking a deep, shuddering breath, he slipped back into his professional act and continued. "That was… a really difficult time for me, and I never really got over it. So when I was assigned to this case… It brought back old, painful memories that I'd been trying to forget. I guess I was still upset about losing him, and I took it out on you. That was extremely wrong of me, and I know that it made things a lot harder on you all. I'm deeply sorry." He looked away, his shoulders slumping as if they were weighed down by the guilt and shame of what he'd done.

There was an awkward silence as the four stared at him. None of them were exactly sure what to say. The officer had been wrong in his actions, but at the same time they all understood, even Gustavo. At least they were being reunited with the boys; Officer Robertson would have to live the rest of his life without his brother. It was unimaginable, and now that they knew what he had been through, it was so much easier to understand him. With tears in her eyes, Mrs. Knight stepped forward, placing a hand on the officer's shoulder. "We forgive you," she said gently. The man looked immensely relieved, and he gave her a small smile of gratitude. "Thank you," he whispered.

Mrs. Knight smiled warmly, but her attention was captured by a sound in the distance. Everyone's eyes snapped up to the sky, and they could just make out a helicopter in the distance. It was getting closer with every passing second, and they all knew without a doubt who was on it. The boys were almost home.

* * *

Logan gazed out the window, soaking up the L.A. sun. Words didn't describe how amazing it felt to be around civilization again. The tall buildings, people tanning on the beach, busy streets packed with cars: all of it was absolutely fantastic. They were landing at the airport, and as the helicopter came lower and lower to the ground, things became easier to see. A huge smile broke out over his face as he spotted four familiar people standing near the runway. They were a sight for sore eyes.

The chopper came to a gentle stop as it finally touched the ground, and gradually the deep, booming chop of the rotors slowed, finally coming to a complete stop. The silence was deafening, but Logan hardly noticed. All four of the boys had jumped up, and they were all scrambling for the door. As soon as they'd all stumbled from the aircraft they took off running. They didn't have very far to go.

Mrs. Knight and Katie ran forward, grabbing Kendall and pulling them into a smothering hug. The blond laughed, choking on the tears of happiness that were now streaming from his eyes. They stood like that for a few seconds before Mrs. Knight loosened her grip and looked up, staring at the other boys curiously. "Well? What are you waiting for?" she asked, extending her arm as an invitation for them to join in.

Mrs. Knight was known for giving quick, gentle hugs, but now she was squeezing the boys as if their lives depended on it. And they were hugging right back. It wasn't long before the woman had lost control, and soon she was crying hysterically, her whole body quaking. "I'm- so- glad- you're- safe!" Her words were broken by her sobs.

Gustavo and Kelly stood back and watched. Kelly had a huge smile on her face, and she had to wipe a few tears away from her eyes. Gustavo, however, was a mess of awkwardness. He'd never been good at displaying his affection, and now was no different. He watched the boys uncomfortably, trying to figure out what to say. "It's uh, it's good to have you back," the large man mumbled.

Kendall gently pried his mother and sister off so that he and the others could breathe, and flashed Gustavo a smile. Seeing this, Logan couldn't help but smile as well. It was good to see Kendall, the old Kendall, after all that they'd been through. The blond looked at the record producer and nodded. "It's good to be home."

Someone tapped Logan on the shoulder, and he turned around to find a couple of EMTs. "We need to take you to the hospital, just to check you out and make sure there isn't something serious that needs to be treated." She glanced at James, who was leaning to one side so that he kept all of his weight off his injured leg. "We'll need to check that out to," she said, nodding. The boys looked between her and the others before nodding, following her off to the waiting ambulances.

As he was helped onto the vehicle, Logan couldn't help but smile. They'd done it. Against all odds, the four of them had survived and gotten off the island. It hadn't been easy; in fact, it had been one of the hardest things in all of their lives. But they'd gotten through it together, no matter how bad things got. And now they were home. Now they could stop worrying about if they would live to see another day, or if they would ever get to see the people they loved again. Kendall had said it perfectly.

It was good to be home.

* * *

**There is now officially one more chapter left! And then it's onto my Christmas fic, which should be up by December 1****st****. I'm hoping (key word hoping) to get it up to 25 chapters, one for each day of December until Christmas. We'll see if that works out. :) Also, I know Camille and Logan broke up in 'Big Time Girlfriends' but when I started writing this they were still together. And those of you who watch Supernatural and have seen 'The Benders' probably knew where I was going with the cop thing. So. Thank you to everyone who's read, reviewed, favorited, or alerted this story. You guys are the best! The next (and last) chapter will be up tomorrow. So, reviews?**


	22. Healing

**My writer's block magically went away as soon as I started writing this chapter. :) This chapter is dedicated to EVERYONE who's done something for this story. Whether it's reviewing or alerting or favoriting or even just reading this, you guys have been amazing. So thank you all from the bottom of my heart. :) So this is the very last chapter. Wow. Let's get on with it!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Big Time Rush**

* * *

"Well, Logan, you seem to be making excellent progress," Dr. Evergreen smiled, watching the boy on the couch for his reaction. Logan grinned, nodding. He'd been in therapy every day for the past three weeks. He, Kendall, and Carlos had been released from the hospital after two days, after being treated for malnutrition and dehydration. James had been let out a day later, since his injury had ended up requiring stitches. Miraculously, though, there had been no infection, and he had suffered from minimal blood loss. And it was all thanks to Logan.

The day after James had been released Mrs. Knight had taken them to see some therapists. Gustavo and Kelly had already searched the whole city of L.A. and the surrounding areas, looking for the perfect ones. It had become obvious that, with all of the traumatic experiences they'd gone through, one therapist wouldn't be enough. So finally they'd all settled on a group that had a private practice, giving each boy their own personal counselor. They were all in separate rooms, but they were never more than ten feet away from each other.

The first day Logan had come he'd been terribly uncomfortable. Ever the shy one, he'd been initially closed off to his therapist, a young man in his early thirties. Logan wanted to talk to someone about the events that had occurred on the island, but talking to a stranger had felt so strange and awkward. All he really wanted to do was be with his friends, who were off in the other rooms down the hall.

Dr. Evergreen had seen this immediately. He'd only been a psychiatrist for a few years, but the practice came naturally for him. He'd always been a very good listener, and he could earn even the most closed off person's trust. So when Logan had come that first day, nervous and apprehensive, he'd quickly tried to get the boy to open up.

Therapists aren't there to break down the wall their patients have built up; instead, they gently try to ease person out of there protective bubble, so that they're more comfortable and at ease around others. For some people it took months for this to happen, especially when they were didn't want to be there in the first place. Logan wasn't one of those people, and he clearly wanted to trust Dr. Evergreen and talk to him. He just wasn't sure how.

So Dr. Evergreen did it for him. The minute the boys had walked into his and his partners' office all of them had seen that they shared a strong friendship. They were brothers, not in blood, but in bond. They felt comfortable around each other, almost like a human security blanket. They didn't like being separated, and the medical professionals could all see that. Dr. Jonam was "assigned" to James, Dr. Senmer to Carlos, Dr. Cross to Kendall, and Dr. Evergreen to Logan. The boys had shown great reluctance to leave each other, and once they did they had closed themselves off, shrinking into their own personal shells.

Carlos had been the first to come around. He'd started off with whispered responses, full of pain and fear as he relived his experiences. He didn't want the doctor to think he was strange or a freak for what had happened. But when he looked up at the man he'd only seen compassion in his eyes. Gradually his answers had become longer, and soon Carlos, who had always been the social butterfly of the group, was talking to Dr. Senmer like an old friend.

James was next. He'd always been known for being too trusting, but he'd learned from his mistakes. He was closed off, and whenever Dr. Jonam asked him questions he looked at the ground, or the wall, or the little table in between them. Anywhere but the therapist. He was reluctant to let anyone but his friends behind his carefully built wall, because he was weak there, and he didn't want to get hurt anymore. The doctor hadn't pressed him; he'd never gotten frustrated at James' lack of response, or shown any signs of hostility. Instead, he'd listened patiently and sympathized. Finally some of the old James had come through, and he'd started trusting again.

Kendall didn't want to talk to some stranger when his friends were somewhere else. In his mind he'd failed once as their leader, and he didn't want to do it again. For the first few days it took all of his will power not to jump up and break down the door to find his friends. Even though he knew that he was the one who'd handled everything the worst, and the one who needed help the most, his mind was only on his friends. Even though they were only apart for an hour, the separation drove him crazy. At one point he'd flown off the handle, yelling at Dr. Cross and telling him that his friends needed him, and that he wasn't going to let them down again. Dr. Cross hadn't been surprised by his anger; instead, he acted like it was the most normal thing in the world, and he'd reminded Kendall that he _was_ helping his friends, and that they wanted him to be okay, too. After that Kendall had slowly but surely opened up to him, because he realized that the psychiatrist was right; he had to help himself if he wanted to help his friends.

Logan, however, had had the most trouble. Dr. Evergreen was possibly one of the most caring and understanding people in the world, but Logan couldn't bring himself to talk to the man, who was really just the next best thing to a stranger. Logan, who'd wanted to be a doctor since he was eight, was refusing medical help. Or not refusing, but rather reluctantly pushing it away. He'd always been an overly cautious person, to protect himself from others. Even though he knew there was no reason to hide from the counselor, he couldn't bring himself to talk about the things that he so desperately needed to get out in the open.

Although he had never seen a situation quite like the one Logan had been through, Dr. Evergreen had had many patients in his few years as a therapist, and he knew that he needed one thing from Logan in order to help the boy: trust. It was easy to see why someone would be reluctant to talk to someone that they knew nothing about. So Dr. Evergreen had looked through Logan's file, trying to find some way to relate to him. And then an idea had hit him, right in the face. He didn't know how he hadn't thought of it before, but there it was, right in front of him the whole time. It was perfect.

At Logan's next visit, Dr. Evergreen had shared a story with him. "Logan, you're interested in becoming a doctor, right?" At the boy's nod he had continued. "Well then you must know that it takes a while to go through all of the school and training for it. When I started Med School I was completely alone. The college I went to didn't provide dorms, so I was living alone in an apartment down the street from the school. I had no friends that lived nearby, as they had all chosen other careers that were closer to home. So I was alone. And that scared me, Logan."

"I met Mike, or as you know him Dr. Jonam, in my first week. He lived in the same building as me, and we were both studying to become psychiatrists. He didn't have many friends yet, either, and we immediately hit it off. Soon enough we were the best of friends, and we had so much in common that sometimes it was almost like we were the same person."

"In our second year at school we met Joshua Cross and Kyle Senmer. They had moved from the same town, and they were in our grade. I don't know how we went a year without speaking to them, or even knowing that they existed, because there was an instant connection. Over the years that we were at that school we became inseparable. We were brothers, much you, James, Carlos, and Kendall. So when it came time to graduate, we didn't know what we were going to do."

"We all knew that eventually we would have to go our separate ways; that's how the medical world is. We knew we could still stay in touch, and we could remain great friends, but we were brothers. We'd formed a connection in the few years that we were together, and we didn't want to let it go. None of us knew what we were going to do, until one night Mike, er, Dr. Jonam called us and proposed the answer: we could open our own private practice."

"Opening your own business is always risky, Logan, but we only saw it as the perfect opportunity. So as soon as we'd gotten out diplomas we were headed for L.A. I'm not sure why we chose this city; maybe we thought we'd get to meet some famous movie stars or something." At that point Dr. Evergreen had broken out into a huge smile, lost in his memories. "We've been here ever since, and let me tell you, there's nothing better than doing what you love with your best friends."

Up until that point Logan had had no idea what he was talking about, but now he was beginning to understand where the doctor was going with his story. "But you already knew that, didn't you, Logan? I mean look at you. You're a part of one of the most popular bands in the United States, the world even, and you get to be with your best friends the whole time! My point is," Dr. Evergreen said, watching Logan expectantly. "I know you're probably uncomfortable talking to what's happened to you with someone that you've never met before. But if you really think about it, we're not that different. Maybe it's just irony that the four best friends from Minnesota came to the four best friends from Med School for therapy; I think that maybe it was supposed to be like that all along. So, now that you know a little bit more about _me,_" he said, looking at the boy. "Why don't you tell me a little bit about yourself, Logan?"

After that, Logan had been able to talk to the doctor so much easier. Although it had taken time for him to tell the man about everything that had gone on since that fateful Tuesday at Rocque Records, eventually Logan had told his story. And after that was out of the way, they had begun the healing process.

Now, as Logan sat on the couch talking to Dr. Evergreen, he felt at ease. Glancing at his watch, Dr. Evergreen looked up at Logan and smiled. "Well it looks like that's all the time we have today." Both of them stood up and leaned across the table that stood between them, shaking hands. "I'll see you tomorrow, Logan." Logan nodded and began making his way towards the door, Dr. Evergreen right behind him. As the boy began to leave, the psychiatrist said one last thing. "Logan, I know things might look hard right now, but just remember that all of the bad stuff is behind you, and everything will be okay." Logan smiled, a happy, genuine smile. Words would never be able to describe how grateful he was for the help Dr. Evergreen and his partners had given the boys. "Thank you," Logan whispered and, still smiling, Logan left the room, making his way to the waiting room.

James, Kendall, and Carlos were already there, lounging around in chairs. Seeing Logan walk through the door they all jumped up, happy, carefree grins on all of their faces. "Ready?" Carlos asked excitedly, jumping up and down. It was Friday, and he was ready to get his fish sticks. The three stood up and stood shoulder to shoulder with Logan, heading outside into the Los Angeles evening.

Mrs. Knight was already waiting at the front of the parking lot, and with a few honks she had the boys heading for the car. Things had been different ever since they'd gotten back. People treated them differently, which was understandable. When Camille had visited him in the hospital she had jumped at Logan, and then stopped herself, something the old Camille never would have done. Everywhere they went people gave them weird looks, and everyone was careful around the boys, like they would suddenly break at any moment. It was a little annoying, but the boys were so happy to be around other normal human beings that they chose to ignore it.

Being back in the crowded, bustling city was amazing. Whenever they could the boys allowed themselves to get carried away in crowds on the street, enjoying the presence of other people. Even after only a week of being gone, it was weird transitioning back to L.A. life. But none of them would have traded it for the world.

Some days after therapy the boys would talk about what had gone on. But some days, like today, they didn't say anything. There was nothing they needed to say; they were all comfortable in the silence, although it wasn't really silent. They could hear the Los Angeles traffic all around them, mixing in with the buzz of the city. So the boys walked quietly to where Mrs. Knight was parked, pulling open the doors to her minivan.

As Logan opened his door, he couldn't help but look back. The L.A. sunset looked beautiful, and it was so calm and peaceful. On the island Logan had hated the sunsets, because he never knew if he would live to see another one. Now he could look at it in peace, knowing that he would be fine the next day.

Logan turned around and climbed into the car, closing the door behind him. Instantly he relaxed into the seat, listening as Carlos and James talked about the party they were planning and Kendall talk to Jo on his phone, planning out their next date. As he listened to his friends, Logan couldn't help but smile. He knew that life would never be the same after everything they'd been through, but he also knew that they would all be okay, because they had each other. And nothing could take that away.

* * *

**And that is the official and final end of 'Venator.' How cheesy was that? I'm not very good with endings, but I actually think I liked this one. I don't really know what to say, except thank you for all the support with this. Next I'm doing my Christmas fic, which is just all fluff, and then… I don't know. I had an idea that I was excited for, but every time I thought about it I wanted to burst into tears. The only reason I'm even still considering writing it is because of something that come at the very end and the sequel. But I'm still very hesitant. So, reviews?**


End file.
